Prospects for commercial satellite services at Q- and V-bands

Some 16 proposed new satellite systems operating at 36 to 46 GHz (Q-band) and 46 to 56 GHz (V-band) have been proposed to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission by U.S. companies. Of these. 14 are intended to provide global, or nearly global, service. One is intended for U.S. domestic service, and one is a package to provide additional store-and-forward capability on an earlier proposed “Little LEO” system. This paper provides a brief summary of the 14 global systems, which for the most part are designed to exploit the wide band of frequencies available for services such as multimedia distribution and Internet access.

Systems are proposed that would use geostationary orbit, medium earth orbit, low earth orbit, and Molniya orbit satellites, and in some cases combinations of two of these orbits. Most of the new systems propose to employ new technologies such as multiple narrow spot-beam antennas, onboard demodulation and routing of traffic between beams, intersatellite links, and in some cases scanning beams to continuously illuminate the service area as the satellite flies by.

Some of the difficulties involved in fielding systems at these high frequencies arise from the propagation impairments that can be expected and the high cost of solid-state power devices for user terminals, which will drive up costs. It is concluded that, while the large amount of bandwidth (3 GHz) proposed by the FCC for these systems is attractive, few if any are likely to be built while spectrum remains available at Ka-band.