![Satellite operators mull options as pressure for Ka-band uplink spectrum mounts]()
Satellite operators, including many in Asia, are growing more concerned that regulators will repurpose valuable satellite spectrum for next-generation 5G cellular networks.
![Boeing to introduce flat satellite antenna to bring high-speed broadband to military aircraft]()
The target market for the phased array antenna are militarized Boeing jets like the Navy’s P-8 surveillance aircraft and the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker.
![Satellite operators worried about losing Ka-band spectrum]()
As the next World Radiocommunication Conference looms larger, satellite operators are growing concerned that they have not made sufficient defense of Ka-band frequencies wanted for 5G cellular networks.
![Brazil to order second dual civil-military communications satellite]()
Brazilian Air Force Executive Vice President Maj. Gen. José Vagner Vital, said the nation’s military wants to have a backup for the Geostationary Defense and Strategic Communications Satellite, SGDC-1.
![China launches an experimental communications satellite]()
The spacecraft, also known as ChinaSat-16, will test Ka-band communications and other spacecraft technologies.
![EchoStar, sitting on $3 billion in cash, tightlipped on future global satellite play]()
EchoStar Corp. on Aug. 9 said its recent $1.5 billion in bond offerings, which brought its cash reserve to $3 billion, were intended to provide sufficient liquidity to invest in one or more global satellite projects that it declined to identify.
![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.
![Telesat to order two small Ka-band satellites to test constellation]()
Satellite fleet operator Telesat of Canada on Feb. 25 said it was about to order two small Ka-band telecommunications satellite to be launched into low Earth orbit in 2017 to validate technologies the company would apply to a global constellation of broadband spacecraft.
![ViaSat details $1.4-billion global Ka-band satellite broadband strategy to oust incumbent players]()
Satellite broadband hardware and service provider ViaSat Inc. on Feb. 9 fully unveiled its plan to cover the world with three 1-terabit-per-second-throughput Ka-band satellites and accelerate its near-term market expansion by changing launch-service providers and forming a joint venture with Eutelsat of Europe.
![Avanti, SES Bury Hatchet with Ka-band Spectrum Deal]()
Satellite fleet operators SES of Luxembourg and Avanti Communications of London have concluded a Ka-band spectrum agreement under which Avanti has transferred to SES spectrum rights outside Avanti’s current commercial coverage regions valued at $25.1 million, the two companies said.
![LeoSat Awaits Verdict on Constellation’s Feasibility]()
LeoSat LLC, which is planning a global low-orbiting satellite constellation of Ka-band satellites to provide high-speed data transfers using intersatellite links, expects an initial verdict on its system architecture and cost by July following the completion of a feasibility study.
![Kacific Aims To Start Ka-band Payload Production This Year]()
A company that has secured customer commitments from South Pacific island nations for a Ka-band satellite broadband delivery project expects to use those preorders to complete a third round of financing and start production of two Ka-band payloads this year.
![ViaSat Cites Big Savings in Picking Falcon Heavy for 2016 Launch]()
ViaSat Inc. said its selection of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the ViaSat-2 broadband satellite in mid-2016 was driven by Falcon Heavy’s “ability to lift more than twice the payload of the next-closest launch vehicle at only one-third the cost.”
![Proton Delays Push Global Availability of Inmarsat Ka-band Service to mid-2015]()
Inmarsat said its three-satellite Global Xpress broadband service will not be available globally until mid-2015.
![Yahsat Ordering Ka-Band Satellite for Coverage of Africa and Brazil]()
Al Yah 3 follows Yahsat’s failed attempt earlier this year to secure rights to a Brazilian satellite slot at auction.
![Eutelsat Continues To Cater to Brazil’s Ka-band Appetite]()
Eutelsat said Via Sat Brasil had leased the Ka-band broadband capacity on the Eutelsat 3B satellite.
![U.K. Sets Licensing Rules for Ka-band Services to Ships, Planes]()
British regulators approved a licensing regime for maritime and aeronautical use of Ka-band satellite frequencies.
C-Com has seen such a quick adoption of Ka-band for mobile applications including satellite newsgathering, emergency services and telemedicine worldwide that Ka-band could be a majority of the company’s business within five years.
CEPT has agreed that Ka-band terminals on planes, ships and land-based vehicles are not themselves moving even if they are on moving platforms.
While C-band remains the most urgent of their concerns in the run-up to a meeting of global frequency and orbital-slot regulators in 2015, the threat to Ka-band is already on the horizon.
