GlobeTel Communications Corp. (Fort Lauderdale, FL) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Sanswire Networks LLC, has signed a letter of intent with the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany), which states that ZSW will provide research and development engineering support under a cooperative research and development agreement for the development of a solar-electric propulsion system for Sanswire's Stratellite airship. A Stratellite is similar to a satellite, but is stationed in the stratosphere rather than in orbit. At an altitude of 10 to 13 miles above the Earth, each Stratellite would have clear line-of-sight communications capability to an entire major metropolitan area as well as being able to provide coverage across major rural areas.
Several Stratellites linked together could cover many hundreds of thousands of square miles. The Stratellite would allow subscribers to easily communicate in "both directions" using wireless devices. In addition to voice and data, proposed telecommunications uses include cellular, 3G/4G mobile, MMDS, paging, fixed wireless telephony, HDTV, real-time surveillance, and others.
"ZSW is the result of an extremely progressive and well-funded effort by the German government to enable widespread use of renewable energy technologies," said Sanswire President Bob Jones. "Their extensive research and development capability in the areas of solar, advanced batteries, and fuel cells are at the forefront of this technology, and this agreement will greatly enhance our program."
GlobeTel Chief Executive Officer Timothy Huff stated, "We are very pleased and excited that we are attracting such high-caliber, world-renowned experts with this technology. This will contribute to the rapid advancement of our Stratellite program. This strategic move, in bringing the expert of experts to our team, gives us an added edge over our competitors. Our ability to work with such innovative thinkers with a proven track record adds significant expertise to the development of the Sanswire 2 technology demonstrator."
