SkyBridge LP, created by Alcatel Alsthom of France in 1993, is developing Broadband LEO system to compete with Teledesic.  The SkyBridge system is designed to address the broadband local access market by working through local operators to solve the "last mile problem" as well as providing Universal Service worldwide.  The 80 satellite system will consist of two "sub-constellations" of 40 satellites each.  The company's financial models are based on a space segment cost of US$4.2 billion and a ground segment cost of US$1.9 billion.

The SkyBridge system will employ the "bent pipe" approach whereby the satellites serve only as an orbital relay station.  On-board switching or inter-satellite links are eliminated in an effort to reduce the total system cost.  Each satellite has 18 spot-beams to provide uplink and downlink beams for both the forward and return links (an animation of this architecture can be found below in the image gallery). Each beam is continuously steered and shaped inside the satellite's field-of-view to illuminate cells fixed on the ground.  

SkyBridge is a bandwidth provider.  As a result, the SkyBridge satellites are designed to offer access to broadband and narrowband services globally. The initial 80 satellite constellation will be able to handle the traffic exchanged by over 20 million equivalent users. The equivalent capacity of the system, defined as the total instantaneous broadband traffic at peak hours, is over 200 Gbps.