Inexpensive User Terminals For Low Orbit Satellites Changing The Digital Realm

The officials of One Web and SpaceX say that they are working tirelessly to create user terminals for their low Earth orbit Satellites that will provide Internet to the customers. Both companies are set to begin their regional roll out by the year-end in specific locations. They expect to go global by 2021 when SpaceX will operate around 1500 satellites while One Web will have 650.

The president of the government business unit of One Web, Dylan Browne, shared how they re-applied their building approach. “We have a similar supply chain discussion around our user terminals, producing in such a volume – literally thousands a month – that we can’t have just one vendor,†Browne said.

Altering The World Of Satellites

One Web aims to create user terminals of $1000-$1500 for public Wi-Fi services, Browne mentioned. Community hotspots are meant for places where many devices use the Internet at the same time. For commercial aircraft user terminals, One Web plans to create $150000 core antenna chipsets. Browne says that these will be around half the current market price.

In addition to the 40 satellites, One Web plans to prepare another 34 small satellites launch. It is a joint venture of One Web and Airbus with peak production of three satellites in one day, Brown said. The Vice President of SpaceX’s Starlink commercial sales, Jonathan Hofeller, said that SpaceX plans to expand globally and will launch 60 more satellites to the 302 already placed in their low orbits.

He said that SpaceX is making the user terminals in-house as are One Web. This will enable them to keep the costs of the terminal very low. Browne also mentioned One Web’s integration partnership to build a “compact†electronic antenna.

One Web included antennas, parabolic and flat electronic in their user terminal portfolio. Hofeller said that the electronically steered antennas are a highly expensive technology to be built at consumer-friendly prices. The Starlink user terminals for satellites look like thin and round flat UFOs on a stick, adjusted on point through motors, said SpaceX’s head Elon Musk.