The lab, in the last phase of its testing, has sent 130 of Motorola's Iridium satellite phones to all the warfighting commanders-in-chief to be evaluated in the field. The phone, only slightly larger than the average cellular phone, provides mobile worldwide service, unlike ground-based systems that have limited service areas. The pagers also have worldwide coverage.

Air Force leadership has a strong interest in new commercial space-based technology.

"We've given Iridium hand sets to our forward air controllers in Bosnia to test, and they've been able to use them to call in mock air support," said Whit Peters, acting Secretary of the Air Force. "We've also used them for air traffic control at Tuzla (Bosnia). It's very interesting when you look at these commercial systems. I think they will leverage a lot of the military systems we already have. The Air Force is very interested in learning how to use these types of systems."

The Iridium system and other commercial products have the capability to drastically change the way the Air Force does business.

"I think we are looking at a whole new paradigm in space - the commercial providers are going to be much more capable of meeting military needs at a lower cost. Now we need to look at how we can do our missions to take maximum advantage of that," said Peters.

Early results of the worldwide field-testing, which began Dec. 1, have been encouraging.

"Anyone who uses or hears about the capabilities of this phone wants one," said 1st Lt. Timothy Oran, chief of information operation concepts at the space battlelab. "We've made calls from an Air Force plane flying at 30,000 feet, and from a floating buoyant cable for the Navy just 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle."

The Space Battlelab does not make decisions about fielding these units, but it does report on the capabilities, flexibility and limitations of the technology, then makes recommendations to the Air Staff who does make the fielding decisions.

For example, the Air Force could put a system in every cockpit that would allow commanders anywhere in the world to talk directly with the pilots. "This may do away with some command and control systems, or enhance existing ones," said Oran. "Maybe the Army could use the Iridium pager and connect it to an handheld computer to enhance the real-time flow of information for their digital battlefield concept."

"It's now possible our special operations forces won't need to lug around suitcase-sized satellite phones like we have now -- these small handheld units will do," said Maj. Jim Traverse, chief of intelligence concepts for the space battlelab. "The possibilities are endless."

Although the phones might sound expensive at nearly $3,400 each, with airtime that averages $5 a minute, the DOD stands to save a lot of money for the capability it would get.

"It would cost billions to deploy a comparable system," said Oran. "Then, you would have to have the people to run and maintain the system."

In addition to finding new and cheaper ways of performing its missions, the DOD testing could also help improve the capabilities and functionality of the whole Iridium system.

"The military is using our products and services in applications and situations that are different from our commercial customers," said Steve Michell, Program Manager, Motorola Worldwide Network Services. "The test results from the Space Battlelab will not only help us meet the military's need, but could enhance our service to all our customers."

From the earpieces that allow hands-free use of the phones, to the sound quality of the connections, the battlelab's field users are scrutinizing and reporting on a vast array of items.

"We've found that although the phone was not intended to work inside a building, it often does," said Oran. Findings like this could lead to other uses for the system that were never considered.

"We are just starting to understand the vast capabilities this system may offer," said Oran. "As the Iridium and other commercial systems come on-line, we will have to rethink the way we do business."