Satellite phones have followed an arduous path since their much-hyped launch more than a decade ago. The hype was followed by an equally spectacular fall, resulting in the bankruptcies of most leading operators.

Today, with subscribers close to one million and operator earnings of several billion dollars - amounting to $1000 plus annual ARPUs - the satellite phone industry appears well on the road to recovery. Dual mode handsets are likely to be an important factor helping to complete the market’s rehabilitation.

This whitepaper is a precursor to an in-depth study of the global satellite phone market to be released early in 2010. The whitepaper which aims to provide an overview of the current state of the market, presenting the key themes to be analysed in the report.