Broadband

India recently instructed citizens to refrain from signing up for SpaceX’s Starlink service.  The catalyst: On Friday, India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) tweeted that it noticed Starlink presales are open to potential users in Indian territory.  The hang-up: SpaceX needs a DoT license to operate the high-speed, satellite-based broadband internet service in India—and accept Starlink pre-orders.   The backstory: India’s DoT has been scrutinizing Starlink […]

SpaceX has updated the Starlink suite with a new user terminal. The dish replaces a larger one sold to beta users. Scaling down: The new terminal is a 19” x 12”, 9.2 lb dish that users can mount to the side of a home (like the older version), their roof, or a pole (new capability). But users won’t get […]

Yesterday, Amazon subsidiary Kuiper Systems asked the US for approval to launch two demonstration satellites, KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2. See the FCC filing here.  Amazon says the prototypes will include “much of the technology and subsystems” that will be in Kuiper production satellites. Over the course of two years, Kuiper will validate the satellites’ tech stack on-orbit…and test links […]

If Your Futuristic City Doesn’t Have High-Speed Satellite Connectivity…Is it Really a Futuristic City? NEOM and OneWeb have formed a $200M joint venture (JV) to bring satellite-based connectivity to the Middle East and nearby East African nations. OneWeb will partner with NEOM Tech & Digital Holdings Company, a newly formed subsidiary.  …NEOM? The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) […]

ICYMI: Verizon is looking to low-Earth orbit (LEO).  The US telecom announced a partnership yesterday with Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Verizon will use Amazon satellites to extend connectivity to customers who can’t access the latest and greatest service (or anything) from its existing infrastructure. Amazon shares closed up 1.86% yesterday; Verizon was up 0.95%.  Kuiper 101: It’s a planned LEO […]