Page 53 - SAMENA Trends - December 2020

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Satellite Broadband on the Boom

Satellite broadband services took a step Starlink designed to ensure interference- Iceland, the Arctic Seas and Canada next
forward in recent days with Germany free operation and co-existence with year, followed by a global expansion in
handing over frequencies to SpaceX other services in the same and adjacent 2022. “Each launch moves us closer to
and rival player OneWeb launching three frequency bands. It will publish more our goal of building this much needed
dozen new satellites. German telecoms details on the spectrum allocation in the global, secure, trusted, enterprise-grade
regulator the Bundesnetzagentur on Friday upcoming issue of its Official Gazette later broadband network, powered from space.
announced it has issued spectrum usage this week. Starlink was also among the We look forward to offering our commercial
rights to SpaceX for its Starlink satellite list of winners in the Australian mmWave services to global users,” said Neil
system. The Elon Musk-owned company spectrum allocation process last week. Masterson, CEO of OneWeb, in a statement.
plans to provide satellite broadband The Australian Communications and The statement included banalities from the
across the world via a network of many Media Authority (ACMA) revealed it had government about its role in proceedings,
thousands of satellites. To date, there are awarded spectrum licenses in the 26 GHz plus the usual comments about the global
around 1,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, and 28 GHz bands to all 15 companies that demand for broadband and the impact of
but the firm has secured permission from applied for them, including the country’s Covid-19 from Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder
the FCC for a fleet of 12,000, and that’s major telcos, equipment makers and a and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises.
just the initial phase of the deployment. handful of satellite companies: Starlink, “OneWeb’s system will help meet
The company has launched a trial satellite OneWeb’s WorldVu, Inmarsat, Viasat, existing and future demand by delivering
broadband service in North America O3B/SES and New Skies Satellites. There broadband connectivity to communities,
and is aiming for a full launch next year. are a number of companies taking a punt towns, and regions left unconnected or
Germany will be an important European on satellite broadband services – the under-connected,” Mittal said. That there
market for Starlink, since it has a fair- ACMA’s list is far from exclusive – and is a market for satellite broadband is not in
sized addressable market of homes the headlines are coming thick and fast doubt. But regulatory hurdles, technology
and businesses without high-speed for some, particularly the UK’s OneWeb. standards and economics are all hurdles
broadband access. BNetzA has allocated OneWeb, which was famously bailed out that have yet to be fully overcome. And,
spectrum both for the satellite network by the UK government and Bharti Global to as those involved in this market well
and for several earth stations in Germany the tune of $500 million the autumn, has know, history is littered with the remains
that effectively function as gateways to launched an additional 36 satellites, taking of satellite companies that couldn’t quite
the Internet. It did not specify how much its total in orbit to 110. The company said make it work. Times have changed since
spectrum it has awarded Starlink, nor the latest launch will put it on track to offer the high-profile failures of the 1990s, but
the frequency bands, but confirmed that services to customers starting with the this is not an easy market to conquer.
the initial allocation is for a period of one UK, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland,
year only, since it relates to a brand-new
satellite network; this will enable it to make
regulatory adjustments ahead of a longer-
term frequency allocation. “We created
the spectrum-related legal framework so
that broadband Internet can be provided
via satellite in Germany,” said BNetzA
President Jochen Homann, in a statement.
“This is the first spectrum assignment
for a mega-constellation of satellites
with a very large number of low earth
orbiting satellites,” the regulator added. It
confirmed that there are certain conditions
attached to the spectrum allocated to

Spacex to Launch Satellite Broadband in Greece Next Year

Starlink, the broadband satellite internet from the National Telecommunications up to 150Mbps. While existing Greek ISPs
service of SpaceX, is expected to launch & Post Commission (Ethniki Epitropi such as Cosmote use VDSL to provide
in Greece in the first quarter of next year. Tilepikoinonion kai Tachydromeion, EETT). speeds of up to 200Mbps, there are many
A report from Kathimerini says that the The Starlink service will have a nationwide areas which lack coverage.
firm has already applied for a licence footprint and offer download speeds of

53 DECEMBER 2020