SETTLING NEW TERRITORY: KA-BAND UPDATE
by Mark Williamson
(Via Satellite; 03/25/99)
Mar. 25, 1999 (VIA SATELLITE, Vol. 14, No. 3 via COMTEX) -- In 1995, a clutch of satellite operators sought approval to operate so-called broadband satellite
systems using a part of the frequency spectrum known as ka-band. Since then,
broadband multimedia applications have received much publicity. But what
progress have the operators made towards providing those services?
When the wagon trains of the early American settlers trundled west toward a
land of promise and prosperity, their occupants' minds were focused on a single
goal: the acquisition of new territory, which they could own and profit from in
a way that had not been possible before. The satellite companies of the 1990s
that have recently embarked on a quest to develop a new tract of the radio
frequency spectrum known as Ka-band have much the same goal.
But developing a new and innovative satellite system is not easy at the best
of times, so why bother developing one that operates in the virgin territory of
a new frequency band? The answer lies in the term "broadband," sometimes called
"wideband," a reference to the width of the band of frequencies available for
communications services. With the lower allocations for C and Ku-band already
congested, many service providers are looking to the frontiers and the
unclaimed resource of Ka-band.
KA-band technology
When a dozen or so satellite organizations filed for FCC approval in 1995 to
operate broadband satellite systems, the frequency of interest for some was 28
GHz, located in the upper part of Ka-band.
For convenience, Ka-band is often referred to as 30/20 GHz, where 20 GHz is
the approximate downlink frequency and 30 GHz is the uplink, in the same way
that C-band is 6/4 GHz and Ku-band is 14/12 GHz, for example (the higher
portions of Ku-band are used for DBS services). The uplink is almost always the
higher of the two figures. Since it is more difficult to put large antennas on
satellites than in earth stations, the satellite is given the easier job and
allocated the lower frequency.
It is mainly the technical difficulties, and associated cost, of developing
higher frequency radio equipment that has constrained the industry to the lower
bands. The first communications satellites used C-band because radio equipment
was readily available at that frequency. Europe's first communications
satellites used Ku-band, partly in an attempt to leapfrog the by-then outdated
C-band technology.
Following this philosophy, the European Space Agency (ESA) began the
development of Ka-band systems in the late 1970s, culminating in the launch of
its Olympus technology demonstration satellite in 1989. Among other things,
Olympus carried a 20/30 GHz communications payload and a Ka-band beacon payload
to quantify rain attenuation at those frequencies. Its successful operation
proved the potential of Ka-band and led to the development, by Italy, of the
Italsat 1A and 1B satellites, designed to demonstrate the operational
capabilities of an advanced Ka-band payload and provide a pre-operational
service within the Italian telecommunications network. The Italsat spacecraft
were launched in 1991 and 1996 respectively, while research into Ka-band was
further progressed by NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite
(ACTS), launched in 1993, and Japan's Communications Engineering Test Satellite
(COMETS), launched in 1997.
KA-band applicants
The first companies to apply to the FCC for Ka-band capacity for operational
broadband systems were Hughes Communications Galaxy Inc. (for its Spaceway
system); Kastar Communications Corp. (for a single satellite); Loral Aerospace
Holding Inc. (for its Cyberstar system); Panamsat (for PAS 9); and Teledesic
Corp. (for its then 840-satellite, now 288-satellite, constellation).
A number of others subsequently jumped aboard the bandwagon, ensuring they met
the FCC's application deadline. They included GE Americom with GE*Star,
Lockheed Martin Corp with Astrolink, AT&T Corp. with Voicespan, Motorola Corp.
and Vebacom GmbH of Germany with Millennium and a number of single-satellite
applicants. Since then, Voicespan and some of the smaller systems have been
disbanded, while Millennium, and another Motorola proposal called Mstar, have
been combined to form Celestri, which, in turn, was merged with its erstwhile
competitor, Teledesic, in 1998.
It was always expected that many of the original applicants would fall by the
wayside, but the departures have left a significant number to forge ahead with
their technical, organizational and financing programs. The applicant that
started the bandwagon rolling was Teledesic LLC, famously backed by Microsoft
chairman and CEO Bill Gates and telecommunications pioneer Craig McCaw, who is
also Teledesic's chairman.
Teledesic is developing what the company calls a global, broadband "Internet-
in-the-sky." Using a constellation of 288 low earth orbiting satellites, it
will be the first satellite communications network to enable "affordable,
worldwide access to 'fiber-like' telecommunications services such as broadband
Internet access, videoconferencing and interactive multimedia," according to
the company.
Teledesic's Steve Hooper, who has shared the title of co-chief executive
officer with Craig McCaw since December 1997, is upbeat on the system's status.
"We're making great progress behind the scenes on our system and partnering
efforts," he says. "We've been working closely with our prime contractor,
Motorola, to finalize all aspects of our system and formalize the roles of all
our major subcontractors and other partners."
According to Hooper, quality of service will be the "fundamental
characteristic" that differentiates broadband satellite networks from the
others, just as it is with terrestrial broadband networks. "Teledesic's ability
to provide guaranteed end-to-end quality of service anywhere in the world will
continue to set us apart," he says. "Our ability to execute our plans in 1999
will bring us closer to realizing the world's first Internet-in-the-sky."
Another leading contender for the broadband market is Hughes Communications'
Spaceway system. Having made an initial application for a 15-satellite system,
the company announced, in December 1997, an enhancement to increase overall
system capacity and add higher data rate transport services. Its dual FCC
filing covered Spaceway EXP for an eight-satellite system operating in
geostationary orbit, and Spaceway NGSO for a 20-satellite system in non-
geostationary orbit. Five NGSO satellites would orbit in each of four planes
inclined at 55 degrees to the equator at an orbital altitude of 10,352 km.
According to a company statement, both systems are designed to operate in the
Ka-band frequency range (17.7 GHz to 30.0 GHz). Spaceway EXP will focus on the
high data rate transport market using satellites in four orbital locations (117
W, 69 W, 26.2 W, and 99 E were requested), while Spaceway NGSO will add
broadband capacity at a wide range of data rates.
The satellites themselves are intended to incorporate multiple- beam antennas,
digital processors for switching traffic among beams and intersatellite links
(ISLs) to interconnect satellites. This means that a signal received by one
satellite can be relayed directly back to the same beam, switched to another
beam or relayed by ISLs to other satellites.
At the time of the announcement, Ed Fitzpatrick, HCI vice president for
Spaceway, stated that the company hoped "to move out as planned with the
original Spaceway architecture as licensed by the FCC in May 1997." Once
licenses for the two new filings were received, he added, "we expect to use
them to expand our service offerings as the market demands."
As proposed, the global Spaceway system would be able to provide coverage in
four main regions: North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe,
Africa and the Middle East. Its "bandwidth-on- demand" capability would provide
businesses and consumers with fast access to terrestrial networks, such as the
Internet, Intranets and local area networks (LANs). The system would use a
family of receive/transmit antennas as small as 66 cm in diameter and provide
uplink speeds of up to 6 Mbps.
The company puts data rates in perspective by comparing the capabilities of a
384 kbps Spaceway link with a conventional telephone line. Whereas a 1 Mbit
digitized photograph can be transmitted down a phone line in about 34 seconds,
the satellite link would transmit it in just 0.7 seconds. Comparable times for
The Washington Post Sunday edition would be nine minutes and 10.4 seconds,
respectively-figures that speak for themselves.
As of January 1999, Hughes was refining a forthcoming statement regarding the
Spaceway system, but confirmed that the company had "removed all doubt
regarding its commitment to the broadband, Ka-band market" by announcing that
its board of directors had approved a $1.35-billion-dollar investment to create
the business in North America. As a result, the company expects to launch two
satellites, which will allow it to begin service in North America in 2002.
Interestingly, Hughes entered the Ka-band arena in October 1998 with the
launch of the U.S. Navy's UHF Follow-On satellite, UHF 9, which incorporated a
Global Broadcast Service (GBS) operating at Ka- band. According to Hughes, the
satellites are among the first operational systems, government or commercial,
to carry Ka-band payloads.
According to Spaceway, its North American business development is "a synergy
among all Hughes units, with Hughes Space and Communications Co. building the
satellites, Panamsat providing satellite operations, and Hughes Network Systems
and DirecTV ultimately providing key end-user marketing and distribution
outlets."
From Panamsat's point of view, considering the ever-increasing need for extra
bandwidth, Ka-band is an important resource. The company's chief technology
officer, Robert A. Bednarek, says although the digitization of content has made
it easier to transmit information, "we still need the space for it, [so] the
development of Ka-band spectrum is very important." The additional spectrum
will aid in the further advancement of satellite service offerings, he says,
while the higher frequencies "theoretically allow for smaller antennas on the
ground and can lead to a more ubiquitous service."
Bednarek believes that it is important to remember, "Ka-band is not a product
but part of a spectrum." As with C-band and Ku-band, "which support multiple
applications like video, business communications and Internet access, there are
a variety of uses for Ka-band," he says.
According to Bednarek, while Panamsat currently has no satellites with Ka-band
payloads, in orbit or under construction, it is "actively designing systems and
satellites for that frequency." The company is also developing specific Ka-band
applications, including broadcast services and "special telecom services," he
adds, as well as exploring the option of using both GEO and non-GEO satellites.
Another Ka-band applicant is Astrolink, a strategic venture of Lockheed
Martin, designed ultimately to operate using nine satellites in five orbital
locations to provide "a broad array of digital communications," including
voice, data and video. In fact, according to Astrolink, only four satellites
are required to provide global multimedia services, the first of which is
planned for launch in 2001, with initial operational capability expected in
early 2002.
Astrolink's president and CEO, Celso Azevedo, is optimistic about his
company's prospects: "1998 has shown a substantially increased awareness of the
growth opportunity in global broadband multimedia services sparked by Internet
and e-commerce," he says. "In 1999, we will continue to see a consolidation of
the industry and continued mergers and partnerships, which will reduce the
number of satellite ventures seeking investment financing. This should make
financing easier for satellite systems, such as Astrolink, which have a clearly
defined business and technical strategy and strong technical, operational and
financial backing from their partners."
According to Azevedo, Astrolink will be announcing its international partners
and service providers in 1999, "clearly becoming the first venture to offer
global, wireless broadband telecommunications services to business customers."
As such, he adds, "Astrolink will be the catalyst that defines the global Ka-
band broadband satellite service industry."
New entrants
There will, however, be plenty of competition. Kastar Satellite
Communications Corp., a Denver, CO-based company and a relatively new entrant
to satellite communications market, is one of them. According to a company
statement, Kastar plans to build, launch and operate a global, digital, Ka-band
satellite system that will provide on-demand, low-cost, two-way interactive
multimedia services to operators of cable modem systems, DBS satellite systems
and other terrestrial network systems, initially across the United States and
subsequently around the world.
The company, which was incorporated in 1995, says the Kastar satellites are
unique because they provide extremely flexible broadband capacity at low cost,
using spotbeams and onboard processing. "No previous satellite systems have had
this flexibility or capability," says Kastar. The proposed satellites are
destined for the 109.2 W, 73.0 W, 52 E and 175 W orbital positions.
What the company calls "just-in-time bandwidth" will provide international
connectivity to the Internet and other private and public networks at data
rates from 64 kbps to 155 Mbps. "As people learn to use and economically
benefit from higher data rates," says CEO and President Thomas E. Moore,
"Kastar expects higher data-rate connectivity from 1.5 to 5 Mbps."
Kastar filed its initial FCC application in July 1995, and an amendment the
following September, to construct, launch and operate a Ka-band digital
domestic fixed communications satellite system. The FCC assigned the company
its first two orbital positions-73 W and 109.2 W-on May 8, 1997; the 52 W and
175 W positions are pending. According to Moore, Kastar intends to launch its
first two satellites "prior to the year 2003."
In September 1998, Space Systems/Loral announced that it signed an agreement
with Kastar Satellite Communications Corp. to construct two advanced Ka-band
spotbeam satellites. The first satellite, in a contract valued at more than
$300 million, will be delivered in orbit no later than February 2002, according
to the company.
Another of the early applicants for Ka-band frequencies was Loral's Cyberstar,
which received its FCC license in May 1997. In June 1997, however, Loral Space
and Communications and Alcatel-Alsthom announced a "cross investment" in their
respective broadband communications systems, Cyberstar and Skybridge. Although
the companies will remain separate, it is intended that they will pursue joint
marketing activities. Previously, Cyberstar planned to use three Ka-band GEO
satellites; Alcatel's $3.5 billion Skybridge, previously named Sativod, will
use a constellation of 80 Ku-band satellites in low earth orbit.
According to Pascale Sourisse, president and chief executive officer of
Skybridge Limited Partnership, use of the well-established Ku-band reduces
technology risk, the price of system components and the potential for signal
fade. Moreover, locating the satellites in LEO produces lower signal
propagation delay than GEO and will allow the use of smaller end-user antennas.
Skybridge will use a unusual spectrum-sharing scheme, developed by the company
to solve potential interference problems, which involves switching off the
transmissions from the satellites in LEO as they cross the geostationary arc.
The handover procedure is ensured by the gateway and is fully transparent to
the user. Other satellites in the constellation would take up the signal at
this point.
Skybridge filed its space segment application with the ITU in 1995/96 and with
the FCC in February 1997, receiving approval from the ITU at the World Radio
Conference (WRC) in November 1997, and what the company considered "a positive
sign" from the FCC in November 1998. Pascale Sourisse expressed her pleasure at
the decision which, she says, represented "another milestone for Skybridge, as
we advance toward our goal of commencing service in 2001."
An industrial team under the leadership of Alcatel is now in place to design
and develop Skybridge, with more than 400 engineers working on the program.
"Skybridge is right on track with its development strategy and schedule," says
Sourisse.
Broad interest
Despite Skybridge's decision to stick with Ku-band, the large number of
companies that have shown interest in developing Ka-band systems, satellites or
payloads is indicative of the future importance of the band.
For example, in May 1998, GE Americom entered into a contract with Harris
Corp. for one Ka-band satellite with options for additional spacecraft, much to
the surprise of many observers because it marked the emergence of Harris as a
satellite prime contractor. Since then, according to Monica Morgan, a
spokeswoman for GE Americom, the two companies have been engaged in trade-off
and optimization studies to determine the best payload design for the range of
markets that are being identified in parallel market research efforts.
Before either of these efforts can be concluded, however, GE must await the
results of an FCC edict, which proposes to reallocate half of the frequency
bands. According to Morgan, the proposed spectrum reallocation is "not an
adequate resolution of Ka-band spectrum for Americom," and the issues "must be
resolved before final definition of the system architecture can be completed."
Societe Europeene des Satellites (SES), the operator of the Astra system, is
also pursuing Ka-band developments, as shown by the fact that Astra 1H and
Astra 1K will carry two Ka-band transponders each in addition to the usual
stack of Ku-band transponders. In December 1998, SES signed a contract with
Nortel Networks for the provision of a turnkey interactive satellite system,
which, according to SES spokesman Yves Feltes, will be "Europe's first
commercial Ka- band satellite return channel system."
Currently, SES's Astra-Net multimedia platform uses digital video broadcast
(DVB) technology at Ku-band to provide customers with multimedia data at rates
up to 38 Mbps. From 2000, the Ka-band transponders on Astra 1H, and from 2001
Astra 1K, will provide the return path at the higher frequencies (29.5-30
GHz/18.3-18.8 GHz), allowing interactive broadband and bandwidth-on-demand
services.
SES's arch rival, Eutelsat, is also interested in Ka-band, as indicated by the
publication of at least 20 Ka-band orbital position requests with the ITU back
in 1996.
The following year saw the announcement of another two European Ka-band
proposals. One, Euroskyway, is backed by Alenia Aerospazio and two dozen
partners, and will eventually comprise five dedicated satellites, the first of
which should be launched in 2000. The other, an initiative for an advanced Ka-
band digital satellite from Matra Marconi Space called WEST (Wideband European
Satellite Telecommunications), is intended to be used for interactive wideband
multimedia applications, which could include interactive TV, telemedicine,
telebanking and investment services, and even interactive gaming and gambling.
If partners, and more importantly funding, can be found, the $2 billion WEST
system could eventually comprise at least one GEO satellite covering Europe and
up to nine ICO (intermediate circular orbit) satellites to provide global
coverage.
Although they have yet to progress beyond the proposal stage, these projects
could, if successful, herald a new era in satellite contracting; one in which
manufacturers offer the market their most innovative technology, rather than
responding to requests for proposals from prospective customers.
Higher, better?
Although Ka-band is more susceptible to rain attentuation, when compared
with the increasingly crowded lower frequency bands, Ka-band begins to look
like California did to the settlers from the East, offering broad tracts of
bandwidth to accommodate the spectrum-hungry applications of the new,
multimedia/Internet age of telecommunications.
But what is that, on the misty horizon? In late 1997, another stack of
frequency applications was received by the FCC-this time for V-band frequencies
(40 to 50 GHz). Licensing procedures have still to be determined, but the
activity suggests that yet another round of financing, contracting and
posturing is about to begin. It also shows there is rarely a pause in the
development of satellite communications; like the frequency spectrum itself, it
is a continuum with no discernible end.
Mark Williamson is an independent space technology consultant to space
industry and insurance sectors and a technical author. He is based in the
United Kingdom and can be contacted at +44/1768-361-040 (tel/fax) or at
markwilliamson1@compuserve.com.
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