5G may herald next wave of satellite comms: GlobalData

By augmenting fifth generation (5G) mobile networks with next-generation satellite capabilities, satellite operators have a clear opportunity to become key players in the emerging 5G ecosystem, according to UK-based data and analytics firm GlobalData.

GlobalData said sluggish speeds, high latency and lower reliability compared to traditional fibre and digital subscriber line options had confined satellite’s role to being a provider of last resort, relegated to serve ultra-rural areas beyond the reach of other technologies.

However,  GlobalData said that with the advent of upgraded satellite technology, its capacity and performance requirements are expected to be addressed in the 5G era.

“The standards governing true 5G services, likely to be ready to deploy by Q3 2018, are much more ‘satellite-friendly’ than previous Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and 3G networks,” it added.

“The next generations of satellites – high throughput satellites – are being built on open architectures,” said GlobalData principal anylist telecom technoogy and software anaylist Glen Hunt. “They are much more flexible and easier to integrate into 5G networks. With HTS, satellite operators can expand beyond rural broadband and become an integral part of the 5G ecosystem.”

“HTS deployments are going to be dramatically less expensive than prior generations of satellite due to a combination of factors including new advances in launch vehicles, miniaturization of components and correspondingly lower power consumption,” Hunt said.

Meanwhile, GlobalData flagged that worldwide regulators are anxiously seeking opportunities to clear spectrum bands for 5G and satellite communications. “For example, the US Federal Communications Commission recently granted the application of Higher Ground for a blanket earth station license to operate up to 50,000 earth stations, known as ‘SatPaqs,’ to communicate with the multiple US-licensed satellites,” said Hunt.

“By augmenting 5G with next-generation satellite capabilities, satellite operators have an opportunity to become a major player in the emerging 5G ecosystem,” added Hunt. “The timing may be just right – open network architectures, coupled by a broad spirit of cooperation between satellite, wireless and fixed operators may help usher in the next wave of satellite communications.”

Leave a comment

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s