Teledesic, Boeing Negotiate Details Of Satellite Network — Project Watchers Speculate Price Tag Could Skyrocket

If Teledesic is to one day offer competitive prices to customers of the high-speed computer network, it must keep costs down now. But Marco Caceres, a space-industry analyst with The Teal Group in McLean, Va., says industry sources have told him that Boeing is projecting the satellites could cost $35 million apiece. Teledesic wants to pay $20 million each. If Caceres’ numbers are accurate, for example, the total project cost – including launching the satellites – could jump from the $9 billion target to between $13 billion and $15 billion. Caceres said that by industry standards, Teledesic’s $9 billion goal is too ambitious. “Pricing is not an exact science, by any means,” he said. “But I cannot believe these guys are not expecting the price would eventually go up.”