FYI...an interesting read.

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Bethesda, MD –- IridiumSatellite LLC (Iridium) is joining with mobile satellite industrycompanies and the emergency response community to form the ProTECTS(Promotion of Two-way Emergency Communication and Tracking Systems)Alliance. The primary goal of the alliance is to foster the rapid andorderly adoption of portable, two-way satellite-based location,tracking and messaging technologies.

The alliance will provide a forum for addressing issues affecting thesuppliers and users of these vital safety devices. It also will seek tofoster the development and deployment of bi-directional satellite datasolutions meeting the requirements of the growing population ofgovernment and business organizations using portable tracking devices,as well as the public-safety community.

"The ProTECTS Alliance will advocate for industry standards based ontwo-way satellite data links," said Patrick Shay, vice president andgeneral manager of Iridium's data division. "Soldiers in the field,disaster relief workers, pipeline inspectors in remote oil fields,helicopter pilots fighting forest fires, scientific expeditions in theAntarctic and sailors on the high seas are all relying on satellitelocation technology as a critical safety lifeline, and the interactivebi-directional data link helps ensure their distress messages are heardand that help reaches them."

"While one-way emergency beacons can provide a valuable aid tolife-saving services, experience has shown that they can have a highincidence of false alerts triggered by accidental activations,"observed retired Admiral James Loy, former U.S. Coast Guard Commandantand U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. "This places a heavyburden on first responders who must try to verify, by independentmeans, the validity of the distress signal before deploying rescueresources. The large number of distress alert messages makes itimpractical – and prohibitively expensive – for authorities to launchsearch-and-rescue (SAR) operations without determining whether it is areal emergency or an inadvertent activation."

To help further the goals of the ProTECTS Alliance, Iridium also islaunching a strategic initiative to focus its internal engineering,R&D, product certification, activations, marketing and channelsales support resources to assist Service Partners (SP) in bringingthese personal safety products and services to market.

While Iridium is the founding member of the ProTECTS Alliance,membership is open to mobile satellite service (MSS) providers,software developers, manufacturers, system integrators, resellers,distributors, industry experts, SAR authorities, first responders,trade associations, regulatory bodies and user groups. Charter membersof the Alliance are: Active Web Solutions (AWS); Argon ST; BackcountryAccess, Inc.; Blackbird Technologies, Inc.; Blue Sky Network, LLC;Cobham ACR Products; DMC Worldwide Corporation LLC; EMS GlobalTracking; IonEarth; KANNAD; L-3 Communications; McMurdo; NAL ResearchCorporation; Paradigm Secure Communications Ltd; Premier GPS Inc.;Roadpost Inc.; Solara Remote Data Delivery Inc.; Spidertracks Ltd;TracPlus Global Limited; and Travel Safety Group LTD.

"Eleven Iridium SPs in 30 countries offer two-way short-burst data(SBD) solutions for personal locating, tracking and messaging throughIridium satellites," said Shay. "SBD represents a very efficient use ofour satellite capacity for tracking and monitoring everything fromvehicles to construction machines to individuals in remote areas."

SOURCE: Iridium Satellite LLC

Source: http://www.rfglobalnet.com/article.mvc/Alliance-Formed-To-Develop-Two-Way-Satellite-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO