Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: piet@cs.ruu.nl (Piet van Oostrum) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Wondering About Gulf Crisis Coverage Message-ID: <16269@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 21 Jan 91 12:11:18 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: Piet van Oostrum Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Lines: 21 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 54, Message 5 of 8 This weekend I saw an interesting note in a newspaper about telecommunications used by some journalists. I don't know if it applies to CNN but it surely was interesting. They have two briefcases, one containing a portable satellite antenna (lloks like an upside down umbrella), and one with a computer. They rent a hotelroom with a window on the south side (or north on the southern hemisphere), and when they want to make a phone call, they direct the antenna to the satellite, type in their user number and password, and make the phone call. No dependency on local telephone companies, state censors, etc. The satellite used is Inmarsat (if I remember the name correctly), that is mainly used for maritime telephone traffic. They must have arranged a subscription on the satellite, of course. Piet* van Oostrum, Dept of Computer Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 14, P.O. Box 80.089, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands. Telephone: +31 30 531806 Uucp: uunet!mcsun!ruuinf!piet Telefax: +31 30 513791 Internet: iet@cs.ruu.nl (*`Pete')