In an effort to increase it’s already substantial business phone footprint, on Tuesday, AT&T released what it calls “Satellite Augmented Mobile Service”.  Such  service will allow customers to stay connected when traditional cellular services are down, and the handset will double as a satellite phone.

The device, named the Genus, is manufactured by TerreStar, and it runs on the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform. 

However, comes with a hefty price tag. At $799 plus tax, but this is not uncommon for a satellite-enabled handset. The service does not require a contract, but there is an additional $24.99 monthly charge for access to the TerreStar satellite on top of the usual AT&T phone and data plan rates.  As to be expected, satellite calls and data plans are expensive, at 65 cents per minute (U.S. call) and $5 per megabyte respectively.

According to AT&T, this device is different from earlier satellite-phone offerings by other carriers because it looks like and functions as an ordinary smartphone, with GPS, texting, Wi-Fi access and a camera.  But AT&T says businesses are acutely aware of the need for disaster planning, and that such a device could ensure the business keeps running if ordinary  networks are down or unreachable. It could also be helpful for workers who often are in remote areas but don’t want a second phone or phone number when they cannot be reached via a traditional network.

A drawback of the service is that line-of-sight is required. Users will need a clear, unobstructed view of the southern sky for the phone to function.

For now,  the device will only be available for business and government users. TerreStar CEO Jeffrey Epstein says that satellite “is poised to be the next standard in everyday mobile devices.”