Device links iPhone into satellite system.

• Author: Insinna, Valerie
• Position: SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS

* A United Arab Emirates-based satellite company is pitching a device to the U.S. military that can transform an iPhone 4 into a satellite phone.

The SatSleeve fits onto an iPhone like a protective case and uses an application to link the smartphone to a satellite system owned by Thuraya, a satcom provider that covers most of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Middle East.

The device is not an option for the nation's first responder community because of lack of service in North America, but company executives are scheduled to demonstrate the SatSleeve this spring for officials at overseas combatant commands in the Eastern Hemisphere, said Bob Demers, the company's vice president of government services.

Thuraya officials also plan to meet with the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Information Systems Agency--which would ultimately decide whether to procure the device for the military, Demers told National Defense.

The company is looking at developing versions of the SatSleeve for Android and BlackBerry devices, which are more commonly used by the U.S. military and government. Doing so would require creating different software and applications for each operating system, said Sanford Jewett, vice president of marketing.

Another challenge is that the Android operating system runs on several different models of phones, meaning that Thuraya would have to construct a different sleeve to fit each design.

Most commercial satellite communications are purchased through...