Telesat will collaborate with satellite operator Optus Satellite in live, over-the-air trials of its low earth orbit Phase 1 satellite launched in January, Telesat said Friday. It said its broadband constellation is expected to have 120 satellites by 2021. It said beyond joint Phase 1 testing, the Optus agreement also opens the door to joint services and market development plans.
Four O3b satellites were launched Friday on an Arianespace rocket and are heading to medium earth orbit (MEO), SES CEO Steve Collar tweeted. SES, which owns O3b, said the Ka-band satellites will join 12 broadband MEOs already in orbit. It said four more O3b satellites are scheduled to launch in the first half of 2019.
Consideration of ViaSat use of the Ka-band for inter-satellite links (ISL) should be put on pause until technical studies are done, EchoStar officials told an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai, according tlo a docket 16-408 ex parte filing posted Friday. EchoStar said Ka-band hasn't been authorized for ISL use largely because there's plenty of spectrum available already for ISL, and ViaSat hasn't shown why a non-conforming use should be allowed. At the least, the agency should defer ViaSat consideration until standards for antenna pointing accuracy and interference avoidance can be addressed internationally and in the U.S. It also repeated its call for the agency to keep the domestic coverage requirement for non-geostationary orbit constellations (see 1801030039). And it said streamlining of earth stations in motion rules should include use of off-axis equivalent isotropically radiated power density limits instead of antenna pointing accuracy requirements, and ending what it said were needless data logging requirements. ViaSat outside counsel John Janka of Latham & Watkins said ViaSat isn't proposing ISLs but satellite-to-satellite links connecting a medium earth orbit constellation with a geostationary orbit constellation and that the FCC and ITU tables of frequency allocation covering fixed satellite service (FSS) include such links. Meanwhile, in a docket 14-177 ex parte filing Friday on a meeting with International Bureau staff, EchoStar said it also backed allowing individually licensed FSS earth stations in the 24.75-25.25 GHz band, but opposed employing spectrum frontiers-like limits on deploying satellite gateways in the bands above 95 GHz, and instead sharing rules should be put off until satellite and terrestrial technologies for those bands are developed.
Eutelsat commissioned a nanosatellite from Terran Orbital, to assess performance of low earth orbit satellites in providing narrowband IoT connectivity, it said Thursday. The launch is scheduled for 2019, it said, saying it will collaborate with narrowband IoT network operator Sigfox on analyzing the spectrum used by the satellite in ISM1 bands and processing the IoT data. Eutelsat said the nanosat also will be used to test connectivity in other bands.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a National Labor Relations Board finding Dish Network fired a Colorado call center worker over his soliciting co-workers to join a lawsuit against the company for its policy of docking commissions. The dockets 16-9514 and 16-9526 order (in Pacer) posted Wednesday was written by Judge Jerome Holmes and joined by Scott Matheson and Carolyn McHugh. Dish didn't comment Thursday.
Non-geostationary orbit constellations pending before the FCC would cost between $50 billion and $100 billion if they all came to fruition, AlixPartners reported Thursday. That sheer magnitude of investment makes it unlikely all the constellations and their 16,000 satellites will go up, it said. Over the next five years, expect to see multiple satellites put in orbit with terabyte capabilities, while satellite average revenue per user will likely stay flat as demand for satellite broadband is offset by ongoing declines in price per byte, it said. It also said satellite bandwidth capacity over the next five years could outpace demand as adoption of new applications like IoT and in-flight connectivity will be slower than expected. It recommended satellite operators focus on affordability and add services beyond just communications capability.
The FCC denied Spectrum Five's request the agency review a 2009 International Bureau decision to allow DirecTV to operate a satellite in the 17/24 GHz at 103 degrees west (see 0907290161), calling the Spectrum Five effort to reverse the OK (see 0909220116) "without merit." In an order released Tuesday, commissioners upheld a bureau finding the DirecTV application satisfied the interference requirements of Section 25.104 of rules. It said Spectrum Five objections about the efficacy of license conditions to ensure compliance with interference requirements were based on faulty premises. It said IB acceptance of DirecTV's application as "substantially complete" was consistent with the way the agency has done two-stage authorizations in other cases. Spectrum Five had sought to be declared next in line for 17/24 GHz broadcasting satellite service with its satellite at 103.15 degrees west. The company didn't comment Thursday. AT&T owns DirecTV.
China's satcom initiatives -- such as the nation's recently announced Hongyan low earth orbit satcom constellation, targeted to be operational in 2021 -- are less motivated by return on investment than on increasing the nation's power and influence and could prove a market challenge for Western operators, Northern Sky Research consultant Jose Del Rosario blogged Tuesday. While Hongyan is unlikely to get U.S. or Canadian market access, a business challenge for Western constellation operators could come in the form of China financing packages that favor Hongyan over rival services from Western LEO operators targeting Eurasia or other low-income nation markets, he said.
Intelsat wants to relocate Intelsat 9 and extend that satellite's license term through July 2021. In an FCC International Bureau filing Monday, Intelsat said moving the satellite from 29.5 degrees west to 66.15 degrees east would let it provide additional capacity at that new orbital slot. It said the satellite's current license term expires July 31, 2019, but Intelsat 9 has at least two years of useful life beyond that. The company said the drift to 66.15 degrees east is expected to start on or around June 10 and take 10 months.
Eutelsat wants its French-licensed 133WA satellite to have U.S. market access. In an FCC International Bureau filing Friday, it said the satellite -- currently at 33 degrees east -- will relocate soon to 133 degrees west and begin operating there by mid-2018 to provide Ku-band capacity to the U.S. and other markets. It plans to deploy a purpose-built Ku- and Ka-band satellite at 133 degrees west by 2021. Eutelsat said 133WA's end of life should be no sooner than October 2022. Intelsat requested that orbital location for its forthcoming Galaxy 15R satellite (see 1705250004), which would operate in some of the same bands as 133WA; Eutelsat asked for a waiver of rules that would defer its petition during the pendency of the Intelsat application so it could still introduce 133WA service this year. It said 133WA would be decommissioned at about the same time 15R would launch.