Philippine telco company PLDT’s wireless subsidiary Smart Communications (Smart) is collaborating with US-based mobile connectivity specialist Omnispace to explore and demonstrate the capabilities of space-based 5G communications using low earth orbit (LEO) satellites. “This collaboration with Omnispace will allow our companies to work together to define use cases for the Philippine market,” stated Arvin L. […]
The proliferation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite launches is leading to greater acceptance of inter-satellite optical links, says Quilty Analytics. “With the future success of LEO broadband hanging in the balance, Optical Inter-satellite Links (OISLs) are becoming foundational to the next generation of space-based communications,” says the analyst’s latest report. Quilty says OISLs are […]
The European Commission (EC) has written to EU member states and the industry in general inviting them to submit their assessments as to how the EC’s future proposed satellite system can be implemented and – importantly – be financed. The probability is that either a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) scheme […]
Operating satellites at orbital heights of less than 300 kms is seen as a solution to reduce the cost of satellite launching and making affordable performance. Thales Alenia Space and the Belgian team of the UK’s QinetiQ are backing the development of so-called ‘skimsats’. The pair are working with the European Space Agency (ESA) and […]
Liechtenstein has lost its appeal to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to allow a delay of one year to launch two low Earth orbiting broadband constellations. The ITU’s powerful – and usually strict – Radio Regulations Board has firmly turned down the government of Liechtenstein along with its licensed partner, US-based Rivada Space Networks, which […]
Bill Ray, VP/analyst at Gartner Research, says that he expects low Earth orbiting [LEO] satellites to dramatically change the way we work. He says that 5G has not yet lived up to its expectations, but “the LEO constellation market has, in many ways exceeded its early expectations, driven in part by launch technology, phased array, […]
A massive Indian rocket (GSLV Mk3) will launch in October, and again in January 2023, carrying satellites for the OneWeb low Earth orbiting mega-constellation. India’s Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chairman, Dr S Somanath confirmed the order from OneWeb and explained that the October launch would be the maiden flight for the rocket. The GSLV Mk3 […]
OneWeb, the global space-based communications company, and commercial aviation terminal partner Stellar Blu Solutions, have successfully delivered high-speed, low-latency inflight LEO satellite connectivity to a commercial airliner. Stellar Blu, has partnered with antenna technology provider Ball Aerospace to incorporate its electronically steered arrays (ESA) into the terminal solution. This collaboration realised breakthrough performance on OneWeb’s […]
The European Commission (EC) has paused making a decision on creating a rival mega-constellation of broadband satellites until later this year. The EC is looking to create a European rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink as well as other systems from Jeff Bezos (Kuiper), Canada’s Telesat (Lightspeed) and similar proposals from China and other satellite operators […]
Sony has announced a new business, Sony Space Communications Corporation (SSC), to conduct space optical communications. “Currently there are approximately 12,000 satellites in space, and the number is expected to increase in the future. The amount of data used in orbit is also increasing year by year, but the amount of available radio waves is […]