U.S. wireless operators want to put their C-band spectrum licensees to work as soon as possible. Now, SES is eager to assist, and the launch of a satellite will go a long way to support those efforts.
The SES-22 is set to be launched from SpaceX’s Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida at 5:04 p.m. Eastern time. Built by Thales Alenia Space, SES-22 will deliver TV and radio content to millions of American homes and provide other critical data transmission.
Intelsat and SES, both based in Luxembourg, were the two biggest holders of C-band spectrum in the U.S. and stand to gain the most, or about $9 billion combined, by clearing their part of the band in time. SES Chief Development Officer Christophe De Hauwer is leading SES’ efforts in the accelerated C-band clearing program that was created by the FCC.
The first phase involved the lower 120 MHz that was cleared last year. This second part requires clearing the lower 300 MHz of spectrum, so they’re packing everything into the upper 200 MHz. The launch this week of SES-22 is part of the Phase 2 clearing; the satellite is expected to be operational for SES customers in August.
SES is launching a total of five satellites to make this second phase happen, De Hauwer said. The launch this week carries one satellite, while two more launches later this year will carry two each. This will give SES enough capacity to support its customers, which are moving into the higher frequencies aligned with the new satellites.
Earlier this year, SES announced a deal with Verizon to speed up the process. SES had already completed Phase 1 accelerated clearing ahead of the December 2021 FCC deadline, and it earned almost $1 billion in accelerated relocation payments by doing so. It’s also looking to earn another $3 billion in accelerated payments by meeting the Phase II December 2023 deadline ahead of time.
Satellite companies weren’t always so happy about moving when proposals were floated five or so years ago. But the FCC offered the accelerated relocation payment plan, and they took it.
“We of course are super happy to be part of the success of the rollout 5G in the United States,” De Hauwer told Fierce on Tuesday. “We have a very collaborative approach here with all the stakeholders,” including the FCC and wireless carriers.
Suffice it to say, the satellite players want to make sure their services are not interrupted. The vast majority of satellite companies’ C-band customers in the U.S. are content providers, like CBS, Disney and Viacom. They lease capacity from the satellite companies and then they do deals with cable companies to get their programming on the air.
In his quarterly transition report for the FCC in March, De Hauwer noted that Thales Alenia Space usually relied on the Ukrainian Antonov AN-124 aircraft charter for the transportation of geostationary satellites, such as the SES-22, to launch sites. However, because of the Russian war in Ukraine, there was no Antonov aircraft available to transport the SES-22 to Cape Canaveral, so they had to work with Thales to transport it by sea and ensure it arrived in time for the scheduled launch.
The FCC developed a transition plan with the satellite companies to clear the C-band for 5G. SES’s responsibilities include ensuring ground stations are correctly pointed and tuned, technology is upgraded where needed and filters are installed to protect customers against interference.
“It’s definitely a complicated program,” De Hauwer said. “It’s the orchestration of the whole thing… It’s a very big spreadsheet.”
Source: https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/ses-satellite-launch-poised-clear-part-c-band-5g