SpaceX has confirmed plans to enter the satellite broadband market with an application to the USS FCC for clearance. FCC chairman Ajit Pai said he will recommend approving the application for SpaceX to provide broadband services using satellite technologies in the US and on a global basis.
SpaceX follows other companies such as OneWeb and Telesat entering the market for broadband services, targeting remote and rural areas where fixed and mobile broadband coverage is poor. They are using a new generation of low-Earth orbit satellites to blanket the areas with broadband coverage at more affordable rates than previous satellite technologies.
SpaceX is expected to launch the first two demonstration satellites for the 'Starlink' service on 17 February aboard its Falcon 9 rocket, CNet reported based on FCC filings. A letter to the FCC said that two satellites called Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b will be launched as a secondary payload on the Falcon 9 mission.
The FCC granted SpaceX a licence in November to launch this pair of satellites as part of a test mission. SpaceX told the FCC that the test programme for the Microsat-2a and -2b spacecraft will validate the design of a phased array broadband antenna communications platform.
