Page 83 - SAMENA Trends - May-June 2022

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OneWeb Lauds Successful Trial of In-Flight LEO Services

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites could soon networks, it adds cost and weight – which of achieving certification for commercial
be used for in-flight broadband, following reduces fuel efficiency. “This test flight use by the middle of 2023. As for when
a successful test by UK-based OneWeb represents a fantastic milestone for LEO-based in-flight broadband services
and its partners. The test saw a Boeing OneWeb. Broadband in-flight connectivity, become available to the public, well, that’s
777 passenger plane connect to OneWeb’s delivered to a commercial aircraft via low anyone’s guess. Thanks to covid, the airline
network using a specially-designed Earth orbit satellites and an electrically industry is not exactly in rude health these
terminal made by Stellar Blu, which signed a steered antenna is now – finally – a reality,” days. According to the International Air
joint development agreement with OneWeb said Ben Griffin, VP of mobility at OneWeb, Transport Association (IATA), the industry
back in November last year. The terminal in a statement on Tuesday. “Together with made a $126.4 billion net loss in 2020,
is named Sidewinder – hopefully after the our partners Stellar Blu and technology as revenue fell to $328 billion from $838
snake and not the heat-seeking air-to-air from Ball Aerospace, we are now well and billion in 2019. The recovery is expected
missile – and incorporates electronically truly on our way to delivering consistently to be slow going: in 2021, the net loss still
steered antenna (ESA) technology made reliable, game-changing, affordable in-flight stood at a hefty $47.7 billion. Cash-wise,
by another partner, Ball Aerospace. The connectivity to commercial aviation users the IATA reckons the airline industry burned
results look promising, with in-flight everywhere.” The test flight itself actually through $149 billion in 2020, and $81 billion
downlink speeds peaking at 260 Mbps, and took place in Texas in late May, and was in 2021. With budgets under this kind of
80 Mbps achieved on the uplink, which is no the culmination of months of ground trials. pressure, grounding planes so they can
mean feat on an object travelling at several OneWeb and its partners said they plan to install new broadband terminals might be
hundred miles per hour. OneWeb said carry out further tests this year, with the aim quite far down the list of priorities.
latency was “well under” 100 milliseconds,
and the testers were able to carry out a 5 GB
file transfer in approximately 20 seconds.
It is not clear how much bandwidth would
be available to individual passengers if the
plane was packed with 400 Tik-Toki-ing
holidaymakers all trying to get online at
once, but OneWeb said the test flight crew
were able to simultaneously make Teams
calls, stream Netflix and 4K YouTube
content, and play online VR and Nintendo
Switch games. It’s also worth noting that
the Sidewinder terminal was able to keep
the plane connected during taxi, take-off
and landing as well as during the flight.
This is important because airlines don’t
want to have to install multiple terminals
on their aircraft for connecting to different

Sony Joins Satellite Push with New US Unit

Sony Group established a new company Sony noted in a statement. Kyohei Iwamoto, of high-speed communications equipment
in the US to build compact optical president of Sony Space Communications, for smaller satellites and addressing
communications devices that allow stated that while there are about 12,000 the need for spectrum licenses for each
satellites to link in real time using lasers, satellites in space, with the number frequency. Over the past 18 months, a
as the Japanese company moves into the growing and the amount of data used in number of communications companies,
red-hot space-based mobile broadband orbit also rising, the available radio waves including SpaceX’s Starlink, OneWeb,
sector. Sony Space Communications, is limited. He added LEO satellites need to AST SpaceMobile, SES and Lynk
set up through the group’s US subsidiary communicate with the ground, requiring a Global, introduced plans to work with
Sony Corp of America, will develop optical large number of communications facilities, local operators to deliver space-based
devices to connect micro satellites in low- which is problematic because each bird connectivity to remote rural areas using
Earth orbit (LEO) with ground stations, with must pass directly over a ground station LEO satellites.
the aim of providing “easy-to-use inter- to communicate with it. The new company
satellite communications capabilities,” will focus on lowering power consumption

83 MAY-JUNE 2022