Betting on bigger: Can Carlsbad's Viasat mega-satellite beat SpaceX's network of mini satellites?
Eight years ago, there were 1,300 functioning satellites in orbit. Today, it’s up to 7,500 and rising. The FCC has pending applications for more than 60,000 new satellites.The space industry is littered with past low-orbit Internet ventures that flopped because of limited demand and the high costs of building, launching and operating so many satellites.
All this — but particularly the rapid customer growth of Starlink — has turned the satellite industry on its head. And companies are trying to join forces to compete.France’s Eutelsat plans to merge with OneWeb. More than a year ago, Viasat agreed to pay $850 million in cash, issue 46.3 million shares of stock and assume $3.4 billion in debt to acquire London-based Inmarsat.. If granted, it will accelerate Viasat’s efforts to leap from a regional North American satellite outfit to a global one.
Still, the competitive pressure is likely to be intense. Starlink is targeting more mobility customers. It unveiled a service for RVs and boats. It inked a deal to supply Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and public charter jet firm JSX with broadband. It also is working with Hawaiian Airlines and has a government arm called Starshield.
Today, there are about 7,500 active satellites in all orbits. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission currently has pending license applications for more than 60,000 new satellites. “Growth in space opens up a large number of legal, economic and, of course, security issues that we are only beginning to think about right now in terms of how we manage these new capabilities,” said Henry Hertzfeld, a research professor at George Washington University with expertise in space policy.
So, what’s changed? According to McKinsey, technology advances — ranging from reusable rockets to artificial intelligence to help automate the management of complex mega-constellations to small, plug-and-play satellite dishes from Starlink that subscribers set up themselves.
“Customers need more bandwidth. That is obvious for the current users of Viasat’s consumer broadband services,” said Farrar, of TMF Associates. “ViaSat-3 is going to do a lot to solve that problem. Hopefully, we’ll soon see customers noticing a real difference in the bandwidth they can get out of the service.”Viasat-3 is among the most powerful satellites in space. It has the largest antenna ever on a communications satellite that acts like a giant amplifier.
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