Zombie satellite is eating internet connections

A rogue satellite is causing major problems for Alaska's main telecommunications provider.
 

 

Bush communications which runs a satellite service for some 35,000 people in rural Alaska fears that many of them will lose service for hours at a time this week because of a "zombie" satellite that has wandered off course.
 
According to ADN The disruptions to GCI service are expected to begin Wednesday morning and continue until Saturday morning in blocks of time that will last 90 minutes to 5 1/2 hours, mostly in the morning and at night.
 
A spokeswoman for Intelsat, the Luxembourg-based company that operates the zombie satellite, says no conclusive cause has been determined. Some claim that it is due to the current solar storm.
 
She said that the Europeans were doing their best to keep the Alaskans informed about what was happening. However she did not indicate what steps it would be taking to fix the problem in the longer term.
 
The satellite's path is taking it in wide, north-south arcs as it approaches a different satellite GCI uses to provide phone and internet service to much of rural Alaska. When it gets too close to the "good" satellite, the rogue satellite is expected to disrupt the GCI signal.
 
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