Did you know that NASA was building a base of operations in the south pole of the Moon? Did you know colonists would be living and working there? Did you know that plans are in motion to establish a satellite phone network which would allow said colonists to communicate with one another? Well, it's all true... and more! According to a report, NASA and the British National Space Centre (BNSC) are preparing a trial phone network to be deployed on the Moon. The system, called MoonLite, will be comparable to the satellite phone networks of the 80's and 90's here on Earth, and will be used to facilitate communication between occupants on the base and robots and workers which are out and about. The satellites will handle data as well as voice communication, with 3kbps downstream and 2kbps up -- though we're told Verizon will control the entire system, with plans to bottleneck speed at will.
[Via
PHONE Magazine]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
byaah @ Feb 20th 2008 12:34AM
Curse you, Verizon! I went over my 5Kb allotment one time, and got my service terminated.
That would suck to get your service terminated on the moon..
snowenloe @ Feb 20th 2008 1:41AM
OMG, dude that was the best laugh I've had in a long while. Having my service terminated on the moon would most certainly suck!
Mark @ Feb 20th 2008 2:36AM
They need an iPhone.
(Referring to the commercial)
Mocky @ Feb 20th 2008 9:00AM
...on the iMoon, right?
Cesar Cardoso @ Feb 20th 2008 10:40AM
Any word about roaming charges?
byaah @ Feb 20th 2008 11:25AM
If you go out of your sector of the moon its probably a few hundred a minute.
T-Will @ Feb 20th 2008 2:34PM
How much will long distance charges be to call home to Earth?
AwlAmericanDawg @ Feb 20th 2008 2:45PM
That's an easy one! it will be free if you use Verizon to Verizon, because it would be IN calling!
Hah, just kidding, just kidding I don't know...
T-Will @ Feb 20th 2008 3:37PM
When is Verizon going to announce their $99/month unlimited moon calling plan?
Tush @ Feb 20th 2008 5:41PM
What's sweet is that since the Moon is covered with SiO2 dust, buildings will likely be made out of glass! Very scifi.
Haters @ Feb 20th 2008 6:05PM
WOW.... Engadget hating on Verizon Wireless HOLY SHIT SOMETHING NEW... Why dont you guys change the name of this site to ATTiPhonelovers.com.. Cause all you guys do is hate on VZW for everything they do. Are they a perfect company NO but none of them are so move on will you.
elgee02 @ Feb 20th 2008 8:05PM
Chill dude, it's all good. Sure engadget has a little bias (and I say that in all honesty, it's just a small bias) against ol' VZW but no worries. I am as some would say a "VZW fanboy" and it makes me laugh, so just shrug it off.
Za @ Feb 21st 2008 1:06AM
The reason Engadget knocks on VZW is because it is a gadget site. VZW makes a point of removing features from gadgets when it sells them. Ergo, Engadget is bothered since VZW goes out of its way to cripple th gadgets Engadget writes about.
Jackass.
elgee02 @ Feb 21st 2008 2:48PM
Za that has nothing to do with it. Engadgetmobile absolutely LOVES the iPhone, yet that thing is pretty damn crippled. Seriously, no MMS and no A2DP to name a few. Even my enV does that.