The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized SES to serve the U.S. market using a significantly expanded O3b fleet in the Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).
“This important FCC grant provides SES with the means to grow and scale our network, connecting the planet and delivering world-class solutions to our customers globally,” said Steve Collar, President and CEO of SES. “With the first 7 O3b mPOWER satellites, we will deliver a paradigm shift in performance, bandwidth and service. The FCC grant provides the platform to exponentially scale the network in response to surging demand for global data connectivity.”
Some highlights:
- opens significant additional frequencies to SES for use in its non-geostationary (NGSO) constellation and
- enables SES to deploy O3b mPOWER satellites into inclined and equatorial orbits, delivering full global pole-to-pole coverage.
- a total of 26 new O3b satellites are authorized, in addition to the 16 satellites already operational and in orbit.
- allows SES to add 4 satellites to its existing O3b constellation, which are scheduled for launch next year
- provides the framework for SES to triple its next-generation O3b mPOWER fleet by giving U.S. market access for another 22 super-powered satellites, of which 7 are currently under construction and scheduled for launch starting in 2021.
Soyuz rocket carries four O3b MEO satellites to orbit
A Soyuz rocket launched by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center successfully carried four O3b satellites into Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).
The new Ka-band satellites will join SES’s existing constellation of 12 MEO satellites, orbiting at approximately 8,000 km from Earth – four times closer to the planet than geostationary (GEO) satellites. Thales Alenia Space built the satellites.
“We are very excited to have four more O3b satellites in orbit, and we look forward to them joining the constellation in May and serving our customers around the globe. The demand for high performance bandwidth and networks continues to grow and, as the only successful non-geostationary broadband system, we need these new satellites to fulfil demand across a wide range of verticals and applications. From connecting underserved communities and meaningfully transforming lives through improved broadband access, to delivering state of the art satellite-enabled network services to ships, planes and government platforms, our O3b fleet offers unique and differentiated performance and is driving our customers’ businesses forward,” stated Steve Collar, CEO at SES Networks. Another four O3b satellites are scheduled to launch in H1 2019, also on Soyuz rockets.
