iSky To Offer High-Speed Internet Via Satellite

Some big players in the media business have invested
$50 million in a little-known startup that is developing a satellite
system to deliver high-speed Internet service anywhere via a
roof-mounted dish the size of a pizza.

iSky Inc. is working on a $750 million plan to have two Loral
satellites in orbit by the end of next year. The satellites would be
able to receive and send e-mail and Internet content at high speed
without cable or phone lines.

iSky subscribers will receive access via small satellite dishes mounted
on their homes. The company, founded as KaSTAR Satellite Communications
in April 1995, says the system will serve "homes and small offices,
regardless of their locations in North America and Latin America."

This week's infusion of cash comes from Liberty Media Group, TV Guide,
and venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, which
bankrolled Netscape and Amazon.com, America Online and the AtHome
cable modem Internet service.

"They've got the golden touches having those companies backing them
up," Sean Badding, vice president and senior analyst at the Carmel
Group told Newsbytes. "It shows that there is a lot of vision and a lot
of opportunity in the marketplace."

Claiming to be the first to offer high-speed Internet access via
satellite, iSky says it will seek subscribers in regions without
high-speed Internet access via digital subscriber lines (DSL) and
cable. "I'd say this is kind of a niche area," Badding said. "They're
trying to pick apart some of the terrestrial-based companies providing
broadband services."

iSky says its setup, consisting of a 26-inch dish and a small modem,
can support up to eight computers, television sets or Internet-enabled
smart devices. It will connect at speeds up to 30 times faster than
that of a 56 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) modem, similar to what phone
and cable systems deliver to rapidly-increasing numbers of Internet
users.

Despite the already-crowded high-speed Internet market, Badding sees
a lot of potential for iSky. "They're in an industry that's being
really explosive in the sense that there are many companies coming on
board," he said. Additionally, the iSky system could provide other
services such as satellite TV, a cable mainstay.

Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com

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