LEO Broadband Special Report Series

Part II: LEO Systems Analysis

 

While our Part I report provided a historical retrospective on failed LEO efforts of the 1990s, our Part II report focuses squarely on the here-and-now, providing a comprehensive overview Amazon, OneWeb, SpaceX, and Telesat.

Our ~80-page report breaks down the opportunities, risks, and leading players across five major spheres.  A narrow sampling of considerations and takeaways includes:

  • Spectrum. OneWeb and Telesat are in the drivers’ seat.  Amazon is still working on a strategy.
  • Space Segment. Space segment price per bit varies widely. And despite the universal appeal of optical inter-satellite links (O-ISLs), Telesat is the only company today to baseline the technology on Gen1 satellites. Do O-ISLs have implications for a key LEO competitive advantage, latency?
  • Launch. SpaceX’s order of magnitude cost advantage and its launch cadence control gives it design freedom (both satellite and
… Read the rest

Virgin Orbit – Approaching Pole Position?

 

Over the past five years, the launch sector has (improbably?) become one of the hottest startup sectors, with more than 100 companies announcing plans to enter the market. To date, however, only one of these new entrants … Read the rest