Boeing LEO Plans Seen as Part of Increasing Wave of FSS Activity in V-band
Boeing's plans for a massive V-band constellation of more than 2,900 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites makes it the latest in a small but growing number of satellite operators nosing their way into that high-frequency band, with more expected to follow, satellite industry experts told us. V-band has been discussed for years by satellite operators, though mostly for such applications as earth observation satellites, and it likely will look increasingly attractive as other satellite spectrum becomes more congested and due to the high data rates that high-frequency bands can support, said Claude Rousseau, research director at Northern Sky Research.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Boeing's V-band plans won't face notable interference worries because the band is relatively unused, said Roger Rusch, president of satellite consulting firm TelAstra. The Alphasat satellite launched in 2013 includes a payload for V-band testing, and Eutelsat and SSL are using an experimental Q/V band payload on Eutelsat 65 West A, with other satellite operators planning to use V-band, Satellite Industry Association President Tom Stroup emailed us.
Boeing's plans will require some FCC rule changes. The constellation will use 37.5-42.5 GHz downlinks and 47.2-50.2 and 50.4-52.4 GHz uplinks for broadband delivery aimed at residential, commercial and government markets, Boeing said in an International Bureau application Wednesday. But it said, as it asked for a series of waivers, FCC rules don't indicate 42-42.5 GHz and 51.4-52.4 GHz are available for fixed satellite service, and FSS use of 37.5-40 GHz is restricted to gateway earth station operations. In a sister petition, Boeing asked the FCC to allocate and authorize FSS uplink spectrum in the 50.4-51.4 and 51.4-52.4 GHz bands. The FCC didn't comment Thursday.
That 5 GHz, paired with the FSS downlink spectrum at 37.5-42.5 GHz, "will enable very high data-rate V-band satellite broadband services in the near future," Boeing said. That proposed uplink spectrum currently is unused by satellite or nonfederal terrestrial users plus has scant federal use, it said.
The World Radiocommunication Conference-19 agenda tentatively includes looking at rules governing V-band use for FSS (see 1512080035). Boeing said while WRC-15 initiated studies looking at using V-band for international mobile telecom, protection of passive services likely will put limits on such use that make it unsuitable for IMT, "leaving [it] otherwise unused for the foreseeable future."
While the constellation would operate in the same V-band spectrum as 5G, "technological advances make possible the effective sharing of spectrum for the delivery of global communications services, including satellite-delivered broadband and terrestrial 5G applications," Boeing said in a statement Thursday. "Although a great deal of spectrum is already available for current generation mobile wireless, Boeing recognizes the need for spectrum is constantly growing as 5G services approach the market. At the same time, Boeing believes the FCC must ensure that any 5G designations provide protection for existing satellite services and future growth of the satellite industry." The company said it expects to begin launches within six years of a license grant.
The constellation's deployment would come in two phases, the first being 1,396 LEOs at roughly 1,200 km (746 mile) orbit, with a second deployment increasing the number to 2,956, Boeing said. To mitigate the risk of orbital debris, Boeing said all the satellites would come no closer than 10 km from one another in orbit. It also said, with OneWeb's planned 720-satellite constellation also expected to operate at the same nominal orbital altitude (see 1604290016), the two companies would collaborate on analyzing the risk of collisions and possible steps for avoidance.
The Boeing constellation is the latest in a series of announcements of big LEO constellation plans, helping lead some skeptics to question whether the satellite industry broadly is in a bubble (see 1603020002). Major LEO constellations from a business standpoint are "a pretty chancy proposition" because a LEO constellation has less latency but also is less efficient than a geostationary constellation since customers usually tend to be geographically concentrated while LEO networks cover the entire globe, Rusch said. While data demands are growing, he said, declining orders for satellites seem to indicate operators are cutting back on procurement "because they already have too much capacity."
"It's mind-boggling the number of satellites that will be launched if all the planned constellations are launched and operate," Rousseau said. Northern Sky instead expects fewer than half to come to fruition. Industry faces such hurdles as development of adequate flat-panel antennas -- a technology he called "a work in progress." He said there are inadequate launch capabilities for all the planned LEO satellites.