Tag: broadband

Small satellite – A different approach?

Nanosatellites or small satellites (SmallSat) is getting traction in the space industry lately. As the name suggests, these are small version of a satellite which has shorter life span, smaller payload, lower cost and usually targeted for a specific purpose. Do note, the orbit of the satellite still follows the conventional satellite as we know GEO, MEO and LEO. Recently there are some companies find these breeds of satellites an appealing proposition for their use cases.

Let us take an overview of a conventional GEO satellite. Typically, satellite has a 15-year lifespan which is dictated by the amount of fuel the satellite has once it is in the orbital slot and ready for service. The electronics usually last longer than the fuel life unless there are unfortunate event of failure. This fuel life also depends on the efficiency of satellite control professionals who performs satellite operations known as TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking & Commanding) from the earth station. Highly efficient satellite operations can lead to longer satellite life beyond 15 years.

The business concept behind a GEO satellite is also determined by the satellite life. Satellite operators/owners are in the business of leasing their transponder capacity to customers such as broadcasters, telecommunication providers, military and etcetera. As the Return of investment (ROI) of a satellite is typically 6-7 years, the contract period to end customers are usually a long term (e.g.,15 years contract). This has been the conventional business model of a satellite business.

However, given the rapid advancement of communication technology today, this is changing. Customers are no longer inclined to sign up a long-term contract as they may find other alternative technology to replace satellite and these come in many forms such as fiber, terrestrial technology, high altitude platform (HAPS) and others. This has directly impacted the way satellite business is done and Nanosatellites / SmallSat which offers shorter life cycle and lower cost may be preferred. Customers can select a smaller specific coverage satellites to target specific use cases. For example, a satellite which could light up an island or small country for broadband connectivity, customer then can build a 5-year broadband business case instead of a conventional 15 years.

That brings us to the question, why were the conventional satellite business case or satellite life constructed with 15 years span initially. The answer is due to an important component in satellite business which is the expensive satellite launch cost. With the emergence of new launchers such as SpaceX, Blue Origin where reusable boosters are used, satellite launch providers have begun to offer a competitive pricing for a satellite launch. The technology has matured to the extend Nanosatellite or SmallSat can “piggyback” with a conventional satellite to reduce the launch cost.

In a nutshell, satellite industry is going through a phase of evolution and Nanosatellite / SmallSat are just a glimpse of it. For example, at the time of this post there is an experiment whereby a nanosatellite made with wood, “Woodsat” is planned to be launched to space to understand the durability of different material in space. This could open a new discussion on cost reduction and different class of satellite. (https://www.space.com/first-wooden-satellite-will-launch-in-2021).

Starlink – Is it really Coming?

For the less informed Starlink is a satellite broadband provider using Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. It’s part of Elon Musk’s brain child who is pretty much becoming the King Midas of our time. Compared to the regular satellite broadband which has existed for more than a decade now, Starlink offers low latency broadband simply due to the fact its nearer to the earth compared to Geostationary (GEO) satellites. Note that both type of satellite based broadband is still upload speed limited and usually provided with asymmetrical speeds.

Now the real question is it coming soon to Malaysia as advertised in their website (www.starlink.com). At the time of this post, Starlink has already started a Beta program in U.S with an upfront device cost of USD 499 and monthly fee of USD 99. The broadband speed is up to 150 Mbps (download) with latency as low as 20ms and about 10-15 Mbps upload speed.

Recently the company started to collect USD 99 refundable deposit for potential customers in Malaysia. citing service availability end 2022 / beginning 2023 subject to regulatory approval. That’s the catch, regulatory approval. Lets see what they mean by regulatory approval and other challenges Starlink needs to solve before providing a service in Malaysia.

To make this easier to explain I’m going to split the challenges into two components.

Space regulation – Ignore the term space here, its simple means the rules that Starlink needs to follow at the sky level before they can provide a service in Malaysia. The company needs to comply with the local regulators (MCMC) to ensure that they obtain a space station apparatus assignment license. This is done by submitting a Space Service Form to MCMC and at the moment its only categorized for (i) Amateur Satellite Station, (ii) Broadcasting Satellite Station, (iii) Fixed Satellite Station and (iv) Space Station. There will be a lot technology brief that needs to be done before Starlink actually submits this form and once submitted there will be a long process of coordination with other satellite players in the region be it from LEO,GEO or even MEO satellite service providers.

Earth regulation – On the ground portion, Starlink needs to obtain approval to actually beam their frequencies (signal) towards Malaysia which is known as landing rights. This will be long-winded coordination process again with the other satellite operators and possibly terrestrial services (5G) providers in Malaysia. Next one would be the license for the small terminals (antenna dish) that Starlink built in house. Currently, the broadcaster Astro has a Class Assignment license to install a 0.75 diameter dish without an apparatus license. Any other satellite broadband providers would need to apply an Apparatus Assignment for their earth station and it comes with an annual fee starting from RM460 and increases according to the upload speed provided. The next hurdle would be to get all the terminal components type approved by SIRIM. Starlink terminal consists the dish and the modem which needs to undergo a type approval application whereby the units will be certified by SIRIM provided it complies to all our transmission, standard and safety requirements.

The above just a main regulatory hurdles for Starlink to jump over, there are other regulatory requirements that Starlink as a company may need to comply to provide broadband service such as obtaining the communication service license (NFP, NSP and ASP), complying to Malaysia’s broadband Quality of Service (MSQoS), adhering to Consumer Form Malaysia (CFMs) consumers codes and others.

With that being said, the target date of 2023 or even 2024 looks far-off to Starlink to operate in Malaysia. Thus to answer the question “Is Starlink coming?”, the answers is Yes. It will be here eventually, but when and at what price is the real question that should be asked. For argument sake, lets say Starlink shows up on 4 years from now skipping through all the ropes above, will it be able to sell at USD 99 to the underserved population in Malaysia? I shall leave this question to be answered by you.

Alternatively do check some of the current satellite broadband providers in the country with CONNECTme (www.CONNECTme.my) being the leader in serving the rural population and others satellite broadband providers that may come up in the next 1- 2 years. The broadband arena in our country is certainly an interesting space to watch out for the next few years.