Broadband
Stories about the broadband industry.
Starlink Updates their User Terminals
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…
Project Kuiper Applies to Launch Two Satellites by Late 2022
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…
OneWeb, NEOM Form Joint Venture
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)…
Verizon Partners with Amazon’s Project Kuiper
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…
Iridium Reports Q3 Earnings
With all the talk of satellite constellations in beta or build phase, we figured we’d check up on one that’s fully up and running. Satellite operator Iridium reported Q3 earnings Monday. The McLean, VA-based company generated ~$162 million in Q3 revenue, a 5.5% beat. Its net loss was $2.1 million. Commercial services revenue totaled ~$102 million, equal…
Morgan Stanley Note Emphasizes SpaceX’s “Double Flywheel” of Starship, Starlink
Can anyone catch SpaceX? That’s the question posed by a Morgan Stanley Research team in a recent, updated note to investors. Spoiler alert: The analysts seem to believe the answer is no. Payload read and digested the updated memo, which was first covered Tuesday by CNBC. For starters, the report is front-loaded with choice quotes from investors: …
Cesium Mission 1 Kicks Off
CesiumAstro has successfully launched its first two CubeSats into space, hitching a ride Monday with NASA’s Landsat-9. HQ’d just outside Austin in Bee Cave, TX, CesiumAstro’s secret sauce is its active phased array payload. Coupled with the company’s software-defined radio and digital backend, the phased array could let satellite operators electronically steer and target beams.…
