By 2027, machine-to-machine and IoT applications will likely represent 37 percent of all satcom terminals, Northern Sky Research said Tuesday. A variety of small satellite constellations -- Astrocast, Hiber and Kepler Communications among them -- will target those applications, leading to new connectivity demands, it said. Low average revenue per user will mean "modest" opportunities, but smallsat constellations targeting M2M/IoT are more viable than low earth orbit telecom constellations due to lower capital costs, NSR said. Most connected IoT devices will rely on terrestrial connectivity, but low-cost satcom services have a niche opportunity with devices operating outside terrestrial network footprints or moving in and out of terrestrial networks, it said.
Telesat and ThinKom Solutions will jointly develop a Ka-band user terminal for Telesat's planned low earth orbit constellation, ThinKom said Monday. It said ThinKom's Ka2517 phased array antenna system will be used for over-the-air testing on Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite over the next few months.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology signed off on Iridium's low earth orbit Technical Educational Satellite-8 tests, in a special temporary authority grant Monday. Iridium said it plans to start testing Jan. 2, with NASA operating an Iridium satellite phone on TechEdSat-8 that will transmit to and from satellites in Iridium's low earth orbit constellation. The company said TechEdSat-8 is to launch Dec. 1 on SpaceX-16, which is to deliver cargo to the International Space Station.
DirecTV wants to temporarily move its T8 satellite from 100.85 degrees west to 100.75 degrees west to make way for T15, which is drifting to 100.85 degrees west to temporarily fill additional demand for direct broadcast satellite capacity (see 1808200003). In an FCC International Bureau application Friday, AT&T's DirecTV said it hopes to start T8's three-day drift about Oct. 2. It said it also plans to file a special temporary authority request to keep operating T8 at 100.75 degrees west until it returns to its permanently licensed orbital slot.
Since there's no international frequency allocation for inter-satellite links, the FCC should dismiss ViaSat's seeking to use part of the Ka-band for that, Hughes said in a docket 18-86 posting Monday. It urged the FCC in its small satellite proceeding shoot down ViaSat seeking rules to allow inter-satellite service spectrum use when there's no allocation for such use. Hughes said at least defer authorizing Ka-band fixed satellite service spectrum for inter-satellite links until after technical studies. ViaSat didn't comment. Hughes has opposed ViaSat's inter-satellite links plans in the past (see 1706270014).
The earth stations in motion order and Further NPRM on this week's FCC members' meeting agenda (see 1809040058) should include language seeking comment about ESIMs communicating with non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellations in the Ka-band to help develop the record, SES/O3b said in a phone call with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Mike O'Rielly. So recounted a docket 17-95 posting Monday. SES/O3b urged "more immediate action" on allowing NGSO ESIMs and said at the least the agency should commit in the FNPRM to issuing a separate NPRM proposing NGSO ESIM rules.
Fixed satellite service wholesale capacity revenue from telecom applications will surpass those from video applications by 2021 as the FSS industry keeps moving toward the telecom/data markets due to eroding video markets, Euroconsult said Thursday. It said the telecom revenue growth reflects the emergence in coming years of low-cost capacity coming online from high-throughput systems and the development of non-geostationary orbit broadband systems. It said total capacity supply is projected to grow eightfold from 1.3 Tbps in 2017 to close to 10 Tbps by 2022. Meanwhile, legacy services could face "necessary pain" on their businesses, the firm said: 2017's net growth in capacity usage wasn't accompanied by revenue growth since the FSS industry is dealing with capacity pricing issues.
Getting a better understanding of satellite operators' use of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band is the first step to ensuring that public radio's programming services are protected and unimpaired, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., in a letter posted Tuesday. Dated Sept. 7, it was in response to one from Cole raising concerns about how clearing part of the C-band for wireless services would affect the Public Radio Satellite System (see 1807090048). Pai said the April freeze on new earth station applications and the 180-day registration window for existing ones is aimed at giving the FCC information it needs to proceed with the rulemaking.
DigitalGlobe wants to add 12 non-geostationary remote-sensing satellites to its licensed Earth exploration satellite service (EESS) system. In an FCC International Bureau modification application Tuesday it said each block of six satellites would be put into orbit on two launches. It said the satellites will operate at altitudes of 450 to 870 km for the first part of their mission and then converge to nominal altitudes of 763 km or 518 km, depending on orbital plane, with that attitude convergence taking place during the first year of on-orbit operations. It said the first six WorldView-Legion satellites are under construction, and it received a NOAA license in January to operate the 12 as part of its EESS system.
The worldwide satellite launch and space insurance market is expected to top $1.3 billion by 2022, Technavio said Wednesday. It said a big driver is the growing number of satellite launches due to more demand for satellite-based services such as reconnaissance and Earth observation.