What Tempest Telecom does

Tempest Telecommunications, operating as Tempest Telecom, was a Scottsdale, Arizona-based unified communications platform provider that served international travelers and field operations from 1996 until ceasing operations around 2012. The company's core product was TITAN (Tempest Internet Telecommunications Access Network), a unified prepaid platform architecture that abstracted authentication and billing across multiple heterogeneous service types behind a single customer credential and balance. By 2005-2007 the platform concurrently supported eight service types: PSTN voice calling cards, dial-up internet roaming (RFC 2058 RADIUS), Iridium and Thuraya satellite voice, Inmarsat R-BGAN and global BGAN satellite data, ThurayaDSL data, metered WiFi hotspot roaming (WISPr), hotel broadband Ethernet, and internet kiosk/cyber-cafe access through the PATN clearinghouse. Tempest also sold travel equipment — power plug adapters covering plug types A through N, telephone jack adapters, and voltage converters from 40W to 1600W — through its e-commerce storefront.

The business model was usage-based across all connectivity services: dial-up was metered per minute (e.g., $0.155/min in Gibraltar), WiFi at a flat $19.95 per 24-hour session, satellite voice at $1-$2/min, and satellite data billed per megabyte or per streaming-minute. Go-to-market was a hybrid of direct enterprise sales to institutional accounts (USAID, the US Department of State, and NATO SACEUR, plus NGOs, oil-and-gas field crews, broadcast media, and Iraq-theater contractors) and direct e-commerce to individual travelers via tempestcom.com. Distribution relied on core relationships with WiFi aggregators (Boingo, iPass), satellite carriers (Iridium, Thuraya, Inmarsat), terminal vendors (Hughes, Thrane & Thrane, Nera, Addvalue), and direct hotel/airport/rail WiFi partnerships. The company was privately held by founder Jason Jacoby with no external institutional investors evidenced. The platform became obsolete as home broadband, free hotel WiFi, smartphones, and reformed cellular roaming eliminated the underlying market frictions that TITAN addressed, and PATN was spun off in March 2000 but never reached scale.

Name

Tempest Telecom

Legal name

Tempest Telecommunications

Website

https://tempestcom.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tempest Telecom was a Scottsdale-based unified communications platform that provided international travelers with a single prepaid credential accessing dial-up internet, satellite voice, satellite data, WiFi hotspots, and PSTN voice across 150+ countries from 1996 to 2012.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Telecommunications Services

NAICS

Satellite Telecommunications (51741), Satellite Telecommunications (5174), Satellite Telecommunications (517410), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)

SIC

Communications Services, Nec (4899), Radiotelephone Communications (4812), Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

Satellite Broadband Terminals & Gateways (VSAT/LEO CPE) (HDAFAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emergency Telecommunications & Connectivity (ETC) (BPADADAG)

Keywords

• International telecommunications services
• Prepaid roaming platform
• Satellite voice resale
• Dial-up internet roaming
• Travel equipment adapters

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Dial-up Internet Access: Provided dial-up internet roaming across 40,000 access numbers in 150 countries. Billed per minute through prepaid cards or unified account credentials. Revenue from per-minute usage charges.
2. WiFi Hotspot Access: WiFi hotspot aggregation roaming at $19.95 per 24-hour session. Aggregated thousands of partner hotspots worldwide into single Tempest credential.
3. Satellite Phone Services: Resold Iridium and Thuraya satellite voice minutes through unified prepaid account. Per-minute billing against wholesale carrier accounts.
4. Satellite Data Terminals: Resold R-BGAN, BGAN, and ThurayaDSL satellite data terminals. Billed per megabyte or per streaming-minute against unified account.
5. Equipment Sales: Sold power adapters, voltage converters, phone jack adapters for international travelers. Products included Type A/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K/L/M/N plugs, RJ-11 and BT phone jack adapters, and voltage converters ranging from 40W to 1600W.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Tempest Telecom operated a unified prepaid communications platform (TITAN) that gave international travelers and field-deployed personnel a single account credential and balance to access PSTN voice calling cards, dial-up internet roaming across 150+ countries, satellite voice (Iridium/Thuraya), satellite data (Inmarsat BGAN/R-BGAN, ThurayaDSL), WiFi hotspots, hotel Ethernet, cyber-cafe access, and internet kiosks. The company also sold travel equipment including voltage converters, international power plug adapters, and telephone jack adapters.

Product overview

Tempest Telecom was a unified communications platform provider that offered international travelers and field operations a single prepaid account accessing multiple service types: PSTN voice (international calling card), dial-up internet roaming (via RFC 2058 RADIUS), satellite voice (Iridium and Thuraya resale), satellite data terminals (Inmarsat Regional BGAN, global BGAN, and ThurayaDSL), metered WiFi hotspot roaming ($19.95/day), hotel broadband Ethernet, internet kiosk access (via PATN clearinghouse), and cyber-cafe access. The company also sold travel equipment including voltage converters (40W-1600W) and adapters for power plugs (Types A-N) and telephone jacks (RJ-11, BT 431A, and country-specific). The platform, called TITAN, unified authentication and billing across heterogeneous carrier back-ends from 1997 through 2012.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TITAN: Tempest Internet Telecommunications Access Network - the original product and clearinghouse system for dial-up roaming and authentication, later expanded to a multi-service bundle including voice, data, and kiosk access.
• PATN
• UniDial

Products and services

• TITAN (Tempest Internet Telecommunications Access Network) Unified prepaid platform architecture that allowed a single customer account credential and central balance ledger to access PSTN voice, dial-up internet, satellite voice (Iridium/Thuraya), satellite data (Inmarsat R-BGAN, BGAN, ThurayaDSL), WiFi hotspots, hotel Ethernet, internet kiosks, and cyber-cafe access.
• TITAN Global Communications Card Physical prepaid card providing access to four services (international toll-free long distance, international dial-up internet access, internet kiosk access, and cyber-cafe access) all drawing from a single prepaid balance.
• Dial-up Internet Roaming PPP dial-up internet sessions authenticated via RFC 2058 RADIUS, enabling travelers to access the internet through 40,000 local access numbers in 150+ countries, billed per minute against the unified TITAN balance.
• PSTN Voice / International Calling Card Prepaid international calling card service using IVR PIN validation for toll-free long-distance calls, billed per minute and integrated into the unified TITAN balance.
• Iridium Satellite Voice Resale of Iridium LEO satellite voice service providing pole-to-pole global coverage, integrated into the unified prepaid balance via wholesale account with Iridium and delivered through Iridium 9505A handsets at $1-$2/minute.
• Thuraya Satellite Voice Resale of Thuraya GEO regional satellite voice service covering Europe, Middle East, Africa, and parts of Asia, with dual-mode GSM/satellite handsets, integrated into the unified prepaid balance.
• Inmarsat Regional BGAN (R-BGAN) Regional satellite IP data service over the Inmarsat-3 constellation providing 144 kbps shared-channel IP for field deployments across Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia, billed per megabyte against the unified TITAN balance.
• Inmarsat Global BGAN Global satellite IP broadband service over Inmarsat I-4 satellites offering up to 492 kbps standard IP with optional streaming channels, supported on terminals from Hughes, Thrane & Thrane, Nera, and Addvalue, and billed per megabyte against the unified TITAN balance.
• ThurayaDSL Satellite Data Thuraya regional satellite IP data service delivering up to approximately 444 kbps over the Thuraya GEO constellation, competing with R-BGAN in MENA and South Asia and billed per megabyte against the unified TITAN balance.
• Metered WiFi Hotspot Roaming WiFi hotspot aggregation service enabling authentication at thousands of partner hotspots worldwide using WISPr captive portal authentication at a flat $19.95 per 24-hour session, integrated into the unified TITAN prepaid account.
• Hotel Broadband Ethernet In-room wired internet access service at hotel chains, billed per day and integrated into the unified TITAN platform alongside WiFi and other services.
• PATN (Public Access Terminal Networks) Internet kiosk card clearinghouse handling real-time authentication, accounting, and per-minute settlement between card issuers and operators of public terminals.
• Cyber Cafe Access Session access at staffed cyber-cafe workstations, authenticated by presenting the TITAN card to the attendant who applied the session against the prepaid balance.
• Voltage Converters Travel voltage converters including V5 (50W step-down), V5R (50W reversible), V4R (40W compact), V16 (1600W heavy-duty), V85 (85W for laptops), V100 (100W), and combo kits.
• Power Plug Adapters International power plug adapters covering Types A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, and N for travelers to various countries.
• Telephone Adapters Phone jack adapters converting local standards (RJ-11, BT 431A, TAE, and country-specific variants including TRJ, TUK, TAE, TDM, TAR, TAS, TAU, TBG, TBZ, TCZ, TEC) to RJ-11 for North American modems and fax machines.

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Iridium Satellite LLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationPost-bankruptcy reseller channel partner for Iridium satellite voice. Tempest provisioned handsets under Tempest wholesale account with Iridium. Iridium LEO constellation provided global pole-to-pole coverage for customers in genuinely remote regions.
• Thuraya Satellite TelecommunicationscoreTechnology or IntegrationRegional satellite voice and data partner covering Europe, Middle East, Africa, and parts of Asia. Thuraya dual-mode handsets operated as GSM where available and satellite elsewhere. ThurayaDSL provided up to 444 kbps satellite IP data.
• InmarsatcoreTechnology or IntegrationReseller for Inmarsat Regional BGAN (I-3 satellites from 2002) and global BGAN (I-4 satellites from late 2005). Provided satellite IP data at 144 kbps (R-BGAN) and 492 kbps (BGAN) for field deployments.
• Boingo WirelesscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWiFi hotspot aggregator partnership. Tempest sourced WiFi coverage through Boingo's network of partner hotspots, providing customers access under unified Tempest credential at $19.95/day flat rate.
• iPasscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWiFi hotspot aggregation competitor to Boingo. Tempest accessed iPass network through roaming agreements, expanding global WiFi coverage options for unified platform customers.
• Hotel WiFi Networks (Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Intercontinental, Starwood)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDirect partner agreements with major hotel chains for WiFi hotspot access. Partner coverage included major hotel-chain WiFi networks through respective infrastructure providers.
• Airport WiFi Operators (BAA/Boingo, T-Mobile, Wayport/Boingo, Concourse Communications)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAirport WiFi hotspot partnerships covering major international airports including London Heathrow, Gatwick, major German airports, major US airports, JFK, and LaGuardia.
• Rail Network WiFi (BT Openzone, Deutsche Bahn/T-Mobile, SNCF)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWiFi hotspot coverage partnerships with major Western European rail networks including UK rail stations (BT Openzone), Deutsche Bahn ICE (T-Mobile), and French rail (SNCF from 2005).
• Hughes Network Systems (HNS 9201)coreTechnology or IntegrationHigh-end BGAN terminal vendor. Hughes 9201 provided full-duplex terminal capability for broadcast and enterprise deployments requiring streaming channels and high antenna gain.
• Thrane & Thrane (Explorer series / Cobham SATCOM)coreTechnology or IntegrationMid-range to high-end BGAN terminal vendor. Explorer series widely adopted across NGO and oil-and-gas deployments. Post-acquisition by Cobham SATCOM.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• iPass: Historical WiFi and dial-up roaming aggregator that competed directly with Tempest in the unified-internet-access-for-travelers category, sourcing coverage through major hotspot and access-number networks.
• Boingo Wireless: WiFi aggregator serving airports, hotels, and public venues — a key upstream aggregator partner for Tempest and a direct competitor in metered hotspot roaming for travelers.

Broad incumbents

• Inmarsat: GEO satellite operator (now part of Viasat) whose BGAN service Tempest resold for satellite IP data; directly comparable as the upstream carrier of the satellite data business.
• Thuraya Telecommunications: Regional GEO satellite operator covering EMEA and Asia whose voice and DSL data services Tempest resold as part of the unified prepaid balance.
• Iridium Communications: LEO satellite voice and data operator whose wholesale service Tempest resold; provides the underlying connectivity layer for the satellite voice service Tempest aggregated.

Emerging players

• Kymeta: Modern satellite terminal provider for fixed and mobile broadband over LEO/GEO constellations; comparable as the next-generation successor to Tempest's BGAN terminal offerings.
• Truphone: Mobile operator focused on international roaming and multi-country SIM connectivity for business travelers — comparable as a unified-credential international connectivity provider, albeit mobile-native rather than dial-up/satellite.
• Telestial (satellite phone rental): Satellite phone and equipment rental provider serving international travelers and field operations; comparable to Tempest's Iridium/Thuraya resale line.

Others

• Cobham SATCOM (formerly Thrane & Thrane): BGAN terminal manufacturer whose Explorer series was resold by Tempest; comparable as the upstream equipment supplier enabling Tempest's satellite data offerings.
• Hughes Network Systems: High-end BGAN terminal vendor (HNS 9201) whose equipment Tempest resold for broadcast and enterprise satellite data deployments.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tempest Telecom