Metamaterials Surface Antenna Technology (MSA-T) was invented by Intellectual Ventures, where a dedicated team of engineers performed significant research and development to de-risk the technology.
and this has been spunoff into Kymeta Corporation.

They want to use satellites to create Internet hotspots. The first application will be for airlines sometime in 2015. Kymeta would then develop products for trains and ships. They also want to create a small, backpack-sized satellite hot spot that could be used by the average consumer

Kymeta wants to be able install broadband satellite antennas onto planes, ships and trains in 24 hours. This will give mobile broadband to passengers (who are willing to pay for the privilege.).

The Portable Satellite Hotspot (PSH) is intended to be a laptop-sized product (Figure P-1) that is extremely easy to use, delivering DSL-like data rates at price points on par with 3G cellular data services. Typically, the PSH would be placed on a surface outside, and the user would then rotate it until the appropriate satellite was detected.

A competitor to Kymeta is Viasat. ViaSat put a satellite into orbit that can support up to 140 Gbps of capacity throughout its North American footprint. ViaSat and its partner Dish Network can offer 12 Mbps downlink and 3 Mbps uplink speeds for little more than the cost of a cable or DSL connection. ViaSat is has faster service but the Kymeta device is more mobile.

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Brian Wang

Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.

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