Telespazio, and
Thales Alenia Space to do a one-year study on an EU-branded Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite system. The commission pitched that the system will provide secure and low-latency communications, as well as broadband internet to all Europeans, and will include quantum cryptography to support the constellation’s security. With this study and a potential launch in the future, the EU said it is aiming to secure European “digital sovereignty.”
As a European citizen and space enthusiast this is exciting news! Having spent the better part of this millennium among various Non-Geostationary (NGSO) and LEO systems, however, a couple of questions do come up immediately: Why is this study into New Space opportunities, being conducted by Old Space company? If the ambition is to secure European digital sovereignty, can we afford to spend – or lose – a year on a study, with cyberthreats rampant and so much NGSO/LEO information already available? Also, as the European Co
As Inauguration Day approaches in the United States, people across the country are watching to see what changes will come with a Biden administration. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is undergoing some key transitions with the coming administration change.
Gigabit Internet is Coming to Rural Missouri and Kansas
Gigabit Internet is Coming to Rural Missouri and Kansas
Federal Bucks to Boost Broadband Share this story Published January 6th, 2021 at 6:00 AM Above image credit: A fiber optic cable used to provide broadband internet service. (Jens B ttner | AP Images)
If basic broadband is a run-of-the-mill sedan, gigabit internet is a sports car.
Hundreds of thousands of Missourians and Kansans could be revving up their internet speeds in coming years thanks to the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).
The FCC recently selected 180 winning bidders to receive $9.2 billion in funding to provide increased internet access to 5.2 million unserved homes and businesses in 49 states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The new service, expected to be deployed over the next six years, includes 199,221 locations in Missouri and 46
Starlink has not been commercially deployed yet. SpaceX is still in the process of testing it. But if successful, Starlink will not require any major construction to reach rural areas. Its fleet of about 700 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites will connect to people’s homes via a dish.
For the beta tests currently being conducted, the Starlink service costs $99 per month, and customers have to pay $499 for the necessary equipment and installation, according to CNBC.
Amazon’s Project Kuiper is another new satellite entrant. Amazon plans to invest $10 billion to deploy 3,236 LEO satellites and deliver satellite-based broadband across the U.S. Amazon also expects Project Kuiper to provide backhaul for wireless carriers, extending LTE and 5G service to new regions in the U.S. and around the world.
For The Inter-Mountain
CHARLESTON The union representation of the state and nation’s telecommunication workers is siding with Frontier Communications as Republican lawmakers call on the Federal Communications Commission to closely scrutinize Frontier’s winning bid for rural broadband projects.
Ed Mooney, the vice president of the Communications Workers of America District 2-13, wrote a letter to the FCC encouraging the federal agency to reject the calls by congressional and state lawmakers to review the winning bid by Frontier in phase I of the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction.
“CWA has been a long-time leader in advocating for expanded broadband access, improvements to Frontier’s services quality in West Virginia, and accountability for customers,” Mooney wrote. “Frontier is a major broadband provider in West Virginia and has the resources and experienced workforce necessary to deploy service to additional locations. It would be unrealistic to achieve