Page 86 - SAMENA Trends - March 2020

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Kacific1 Commercial Broadband Services Commence Across Asia-Pacific

Kacific Broadband’s first communications satellite, Kacific1, has
entered commercial service and is ready to support customers
across the Asia-Pacific region, the company announced
yesterday (9 March 2020). Since entering orbit in December, the
high-throughput satellite has undergone tests and all its 56 spot
beams are now operating at full capability, with over a hundred
trial end-user sites deployed so far. Kacific engineers are training
local engineers in the installation and maintenance of the satellite
ground technology, and the company says that rapid rollout will
continue in coming months connecting both new end users and
those being transferred from provisional Ku-band services to
Kacific1’s Ka-band services. Its press release says that Kacific’s
high speed broadband services are available in the following
countries via local telcos and ISPs: Pacific: American Samoa,
Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Micronesia,
New Zealand, Niue, Northern Mariana, Papua New Guinea, Samoa,
Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Asia: Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines,
Timor-Leste and southern Thailand.

Rakuten, Vodafone Fund Mobile Satellite Network

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten and rural areas, along with providing aid to 5G in future. Other investors in the
and Vodafone Group became lead during natural disasters. Mickey Mikitani, project include American Tower; Cisneros;
investors backing a start-up project to Chairman and CEO of Rakuten, added the Samsung NEXT; and AST & Science founder
launch the world’s first satellite network venture is part of plans for the company to Abel Avellan. The new investment brings
beaming mobile connectivity directly become a leading MNO in Japan and global the total capital raised by AST & Science
to smartphones, in a move to boost solutions provider. Rakuten Mobile is to $128 million. Vodafone also agreed a
coverage. Vodafone and Rakuten invested scheduled to launch commercial services strategic partnership with AST & Science
in SpaceMobile, a low-latency LEO satellite next month. In an announcement video, and will contribute technical, operational
network configured to connect directly Vodafone CTO Johan Wibergh said the and regulatory expertise in support of
to standard smartphones. It is being network will be launched in a few years. the global deployment of SpaceMobile.
constructed by start-up Avellan Space He highlighted people will not have to buy Technology giants Amazon and Space X
Technology & Science (AST & Science). In satellite phones to use in remote areas and also announced plans to launch satellite
a joint statement, Vodafone CEO Nick Read can use their 4G/5G smartphones in such networks into space to provide global
said the satellite network will enhance places. Initially the satellites will provide internet access. Another start-up in this
coverage in core markets in Europe, Africa 4G signal to partners with an upgrade field is Lynk (formerly UbiquitiLink).

New Ukrainian Satellite Channels Set to Launch

The Ukrainian media group StarLightMedia STB and New Channel. It adds that on to discuss calls for a moratorium on the
plans to launch an unencrypted March 3 StarLightMedia applied to the encryption of satellite TV channels that
international satellite TV channel by National Council for a license to operate took place in January. The four groups
March 16. Quoting the company’s press the channel. The channel is a response agreed to launch unencrypted satellite
service, Telekritika reports that the to a request from the Ukrainian president, versions of their national TV channels
channel will carry content produced by who StarLightMedia and the three other and thereby make them available again to
its current proprietary channels ICTV, leading media groups met late last month Ukrainian citizens by March 16.

86 MARCH 2020