Satellite Operator SES Acquiring Intelsat In $3.1 Billion Deal (space.com) 13
Satellite operator SES plans to buy fellow satellite operator Intelsat, in a $3.1 billion deal that's expected to close next year. According to Space Magazine, the combined company could help it "compete with SpaceX's huge Starlink broadband network." From the report: SES and Intelsat both operate communications satellites in geostationary orbit, which lies 22,236 miles (35,785 kilometers) above Earth. SES also runs a constellation called O3b in medium Earth orbit, at an altitude of about 5,000 miles (8,000 km). As [SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh] noted, there is increasingly fierce competition for the services provided by these satellites -- for example, from SpaceX's Starlink megaconstellation in low Earth orbit. And other LEO megaconstellations are in the works as well. For instance, Amazon launched the first two prototypes for its planned 3,200-satellite Project Kuiper network this past October.
"By combining our financial strength and world-class team with that of SES, we create a more competitive, growth-oriented solutions provider in an industry going through disruptive change," Intelsat CEO David Wajsgras said in the same statement. "The combined company will be positioned to meet customers' needs around the world and exceed their expectations," he added.
"By combining our financial strength and world-class team with that of SES, we create a more competitive, growth-oriented solutions provider in an industry going through disruptive change," Intelsat CEO David Wajsgras said in the same statement. "The combined company will be positioned to meet customers' needs around the world and exceed their expectations," he added.
Uh good luck (Score:4, Interesting)
How are they going to get the satellites up there? SpaceX is the only provider who can do it cheaply AND has the launch cadence. Plus, Starlink has a 5+ year head start. Meaning if SES started work tomorrow, their first launch would be two or three years from now and then add another 5 to 7 years before their constellation is in place in any position to compete with Starlink -- by which time Starlink will be onto its Gen 2.
Re:Uh good luck (Score:5, Informative)
I think Starlink is a red herring, probably just the journalist writing about the only other big constellation they know or something.
They will likely provide other services, like 5G, IoT comms (LoRA etc.), and other stuff that Starlink isn't really suited for. The Starlink broadband transceivers are big and very power hungry, no good for sensors, transponders, handsets, and the like. They have announced "direct to cell" 4G service, but they don't have a big head start on that and it remains to be seen how well it will work, as it's more of an add-on for them, not the primary purpose of the satellite.
The other issue that TFA fails to mention is that it's getting crowded up there, and we are now looking at disposing of thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of satellites by burning them in the upper atmosphere, every single year.
Re: (Score:2)
The big issue with prior LEO constellations was the ability to track the constantly changing visible members of constellations, which adds to the complexity of the ground station as opposed to geosynchronous connections which basically require a dish pointed at the right spot in the sky.
Any LEO constellation essentially invites the same complexity, it's not private to Starlink.
Re: (Score:2)
Starlink will support 5G, IoT etc. before SES can start launching satellites. Starlink is about the size of a pizza box and consumes the same current as a 60 watt incadescent light bulb. If SES can make satellite communications work with a cell phone/under 1 watt, then why can't Starlink do that? In fact Starlink already demonstrated cell phone to cell phone texting (which means it can support IoT/LoRa). As for 5G I am sure that's on their radar, they have a deal with T-mobile .. you don't think the possibi
Re: (Score:2)
The issue is bandwidth. IoT stuff sending a few tens of bytes and hour can send a much weaker, lower bit rate signal. With cell coverage not only do you need more bandwidth per device, but each device needs more of it. Each satellite covers a huge area (i.e. lots of clients), and unlike LoRA a connection must be maintained.
They could potentially add stuff like LoRA to their satellites, but it's a lot like they "could" add features to Tesla cars and in reality it takes much longer than Musk thinks.
Re: (Score:2)
The two named companies provide geosynchronous services. That's becoming old hat fairly rapidly. 600ms latency and under 10mbps connections aren't going to compete against Starlink. They have to figure out ways to be relevant. They'll struggle to be relevant until their birds die.
We DON'T need yet another network of satellites (Score:5, Interesting)
In this specific scenario, I don't see how the heck ANOTHER 20K strong satellite network would benefit anyone. The skies are full enough already!
Re: (Score:2)
In this specific scenario, I don't see how the heck ANOTHER 20K strong satellite network would benefit anyone. The skies are full enough already!
We will not be satisfied until we create an impenetrable wall of space junk! It's our right to junk up every aspect of our planet, including LEO. WE WANT TO ADVERTISE OUR DECADENCE TO THE UNIVERSE! In ten million years, when the aliens finally find our husk, we want them to wonder what kind of morons get advanced enough to launch, yet remain inane enough to only use that capability to create a wasteland of destruction over our heads. Let's make them ponder the darkness in our nature, long after we're gone.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
LEO or no go (Score:1)
Intelsat is worthless. They're too high and can't do VoIP, gaming, etc.
Low Earth Orbit (LEO, Starlink) is closer and can do all those those things.
Put a fork in in it.
Bandwidth, Service Area (Score:2)
Up to 5G on my constellation.
"I have up to one million dollars in my pocket."