Thousands of V-Band Satellites Seeking FCC Approval
SpaceX, OneWeb and Telesat Canada -- already planning non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite constellations in the Ka- and/or Ku-band (see 1611160010) -- also want FCC approval to put more than 8,000 V-band satellites in orbit. And Boeing plans to operate a 147-satellite V-band constellation atop the 2,900-satellite NGSO V-band constellation already awaiting FCC review (see 1606230050). Wednesday was the deadline for processing round applications triggered by Boeing’s NGSO application (see 1611010060). Aside from the new constellations, O3b and Theia Holdings asked in amendments to be allowed to add V-band capabilities to their pending NGSO applications.
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With spectrum allocations in the Ka- and Ku-bands filling up, "people are looking at higher frequencies" like V-band, satellite consultant Edward Jurkevics of Chesapeake Analytics told us. "It's like coming over to the New World of North America and colonizing it, carving up the space." Because of rain fade issues with V-band, he said, that spectrum "is going to be trickier to use." OneWeb is a Chesapeake client.
The proposed V-band constellation is "a cost effective means" to a global broadband network, Boeing said in its FCC International Bureau application for approval of 132 low earth orbit satellites and 15 inclined NGSO satellites. It said the LEOs would have Ka-band inter-satellite links with geostationary orbit satellites and the V-band constellation's NGSO satellites. Boeing emailed us that the latest V-band application "represents an option that we are developing" but the company filed the application to meet the processing round deadline.
The added V-band constellation would give its proposed Ka-/Ku-band constellation of 4,400 satellites “additional spectrum diversity,” SpaceX said in its V-band application. It said the 7,518-satellite V-band constellation would operate at altitudes of 335-346 km (208-215 miles) and would boost the potential number of customers and quality of service and would optimize spectrum use, cutting interference through more capacity and frequency reuse.
Telesat Canada’s V-band LEO constellation is aimed at augmenting the broadband capacity of its planned Ka-band LEO constellation, it said in its filing. It said the up-to 117-satellite constellation would act as an overlay to its Ka-band LEO constellation.
Construction has started on OneWeb's first-generation Ka-/Ku-band NGSO constellation, with the first launch to come as early as March 2018, and deployment of its V-band constellation could start as soon as 2020, the company said. It said its V-band constellation -- 720 LEO satellites and 1,280 medium earth orbit satellites -- would complement its Ka-/Ku-band plans by focusing the additional spectrum using steerable beams and frequency re-use at concentrations of bandwidth-intensive customers.
Adding V-band frequencies to its proposed 112-satellite remote sensing constellation would "greatly enhance Theia's ability to deliver next generation remote-sensing analytics and information products" while not affecting satellite designs, Theia Holdings said in its amendment filing. It said the volume of Earth observation data the satellite network will generate "necessitates additional V-band downlink spectrum" to transmit it to terrestrial customers. O3b, in its amendment, said since starting operations 2.5 years ago, it “already needs substantially more capacity to accommodate the growing demand.”
Operators also asked for waivers of rules on divvying up spectrum among processing round applicants. Theia said those rules "are no longer necessary to prevent" NGSO interference, thanks to spectrum-sharing techniques. OneWeb said no satellite systems now are operating in the V-band, so there are no incumbents to be hurt by granting of a waiver. Telesat Canada said the FCC band segmentation rule in the context of the V-band NGSO processing round “would frustrate the underlying purpose of the rule” since splitting among multiple NGSOs will mean too little spectrum being available for any applicant to be commercially viable.
Boeing -- which has been in talks with OneWeb about both their planned NGSO constellations potentially operating at roughly the same nominal altitude (see 1609200013) -- in a separate International Bureau filing Wednesday lowered the nominal altitude of its proposed NGSO constellation. Now the first phase of its constellation would be 1,396 LEO satellites at a 1,030 km (640 mile) orbit -- instead of its initial plans for 1,200 km (746 miles) -- with the second phase bringing the constellation 2,956 satellites at altitudes of 970-1,083 km (603-673 miles).