ITU
4.1 billion people online • Iridium completes $1.45 billion refinancing • SES exec to chair Space Data Association
An estimated 53.6% of the world’s population now has access to the internet, according to a new report from the International Telecommunication Union.
Megaconstellation milestones high on U.S. WRC-19 priority list
Finding international consensus on deployment milestones for constellations of non-geosynchronous satellites is a top space-related priority for the U.S. delegation attending the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference, officials said Nov. 1.
WRC-19 begins • Hiber buys green thrusters • Ariane 6 facility inaugurated in Germany
The 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference began this week in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The satellite industry and the cellular industry are both hoping to gain new spectrum
SpaceX submits paperwork for 30,000 more Starlink satellites
The FCC, on SpaceX’s behalf, submitted 20 filings to the ITU for 1,500 satellites apiece in various low Earth orbits, an ITU official confirmed Oct. 15 to SpaceNews.
Satellite industry prepares for WRC-19 on multiple fronts
This fall when the International Telecommunication Union’s next WRC begins, the satellite industry will have its attention divided on multiple fronts ranging from new rules for smallsats to losing satellite airwaves to 5G cellular networks, creating a fear that efforts could be spread too thin to give each topic the attention it needs.
Op-ed | Satellite communications are an essential link for a connected world
There is no slowdown in the pace of satellite innovations: reading the press, it seems that every week brings another new example of how satellite industry could have profound impact on improving people’s lives.
ITU wants megaconstellations to meet tougher launch milestones
Regulators worry that the ITU’s current bring-into-use rules make it too easy for companies to warehouse spectrum, potentially tying up valuable non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) frequencies for years without introducing new satellite services.
Op-Ed | Intelsat’s myopia on C-band
The recent proposal made by Intelsat and Intel in response to the FCC request for proposals on how the satellite industry and the mobile networks can coexist took many of us by surprise.
ITU: mobile networks want some C- and Ka-band spectrum for 5G
The mobile network operators that strove with limited success to obtain large chunks of C-band spectrum two years ago in Geneva will try again in 2019 to secure more spectrune future 5G networks.
FCC Chairman issues sharp warning to satellite industry
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s bare-knuckled attack on satellite operators’ refusal to share Ka-band spectrum with future 5G terrestrial mobile providers ripped through the Satellite 2016 conference here like a cold mountain wind.
Officials fear precedent set as Egypt wins ITU satellite approval pleading ‘force majeure’
Global satellite regulators, in a decision some fear could undermine coordinated management of satellite orbital slots, have granted Egypt three additional years to launch a civil/military telecommunications satellite whose launch deadline was next May.
Laos, with China’s Aid, Enters Crowded Satellite Telecom Field
The Nov. 21 launch of LaoSat-1 highlights three trends changing the global satellite telecommunications market, including regulators' willingness to relax the rules for poor nations.
U.S., Germany Face Uphill Fight for UAV Spectrum
The United States and Germany, backed by several large commercial satellite fleet operators, are fighting an uphill battle to persuade global governments to allocate Ku- or Ka-band satellite spectrum for the command and control of unmanned aerial vehicles on transoceanic or trans-continental routes.
ITU Aircraft Satellite-tracking Agreement Bolsters Aireon Business Case
Global governments’ approval of radio spectrum permitting aircraft to provide additional tracking data to satellites reduces the chance of another lost jet like Malaysian Airlines MH370 and immediately improves the business case for Iridium Satellites and its Aireon LLC aircraft-tracking affiliate.
Low Earth Orbit Constellations Could Pose Interference Risk to GEO Satellites
A proposed wave of low Earth orbit communications satellite constellations could become an interference hazard for satellites in geostationary orbit even if those new systems comply with existing rules, some satellite operators fear.
Isle of Man Helps Britain To Lead in Satellite Registrations
The British dominance includes seven registrations with the United Kingdom’s Ofcom and nine filed through British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.
