This will be a giant fiber-optic worldwide network. The first phase will be operational by 2000, and the entire network will be up by 2003, say the optimists. A New Jersey start-up called CTR is behind much of Project Oxygen. According to one source, with this project in place the cost of international voice calls will essentially be zero. This network will be an IP network, so all phone services will be IP-based, another major trend we are witnessing.
Fiber optics is faster and more secure than satellites.