Advanced Television

elon musk

Telesat: “No low-cost LEO antennas in near term”

Elon Musk is inviting consumers in rural America to install his Starlink satellite broadband system, at a cost of $99 a month. They also have to pay $499 for the antenna and its associated kit. However, it is widely accepted that Musk’s SpaceX is swallowing some of the antenna’s costs. As recently reported, the search […]

November 2, 2020By Chris Forrester

Low-cost antennas still years away

A report from Quilty Analytics makes difficult reading for those expecting low-cost (sub-$500) antennas which are vital if the likes of Elon Musk are to make in-roads into the mass consumer market. Quilty’s conclusions are blunt: “The original vision of a low-cost, high-performing electronically steered antenna for commercial markets and consumer applications has not yet […]

October 27, 2020

Bank: SpaceX worth $100bn

Elon Musk is sitting on another gold mine if a valuation from Morgan Stanley is anywhere near accurate. The bank – in a best-case valuation – says that Musk’s SpaceX rocket business and its Starlink satellite subsidiary is worth $100 billion. This is undoubtedly good news for Musk, not only in the core valuation but […]

October 26, 2020

SpaceX gets Canadian licence

Canada’s Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved an application by SpaceX for a high-speed satellite-based service to and from Canada. SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, applied for a Basic International Telecommunications Services (BITS) licence in May. The approval for the application was granted a week ago according to a letter to the company posted on […]

October 21, 2020By Chris Forrester

SpaceX’s 15th launch readies, but challenges remain

Building on the success of its 14th launch on October 18th, SpaceX is readying its 15th batch of Starlink craft for a possible launch on October 21st. Currently a launch of the next batch of 60 satellites is scheduled for 12.36pm Florida time dependent on the usual weather and any last-minute technical delays. Subject to […]

October 20, 2020

Musk registers Australian business

Elon Musk’s satellite constellation Starlink has registered a business in Australia. Starlink Australia Pty Ltd has been created out of a pre-registered company – Tibro Australia Pty Ltds. Tibro (‘orbit’ backwards) in Australia was granted a telecommunications licence in Australia (by the Australian Communications & Media Authority) on August 7th. There has been no formal […]

October 13, 2020By Chris Forrester

Concerns over ‘flat panel’ LEO antennas

If there’s one vital component that Elon Musk and the likes of Jeff Bezos as well as Telesat, OneWeb and others need it’s a low-cost consumer friendly phased array flat-panel antenna. Yoel Gat, founder of Gilat Satellite Networks (and now CEO at SatixFy, a designer of flat-panel antennas) says that the dream of a sub-$300 […]

October 9, 2020

13th Starlink launch success for SpaceX

Three important rocket launches from Florida’s Space Coast were delayed over the past two weeks prompting Elon Musk, in a Tweet, to admit that further improvements will need to be made to the Falcon-9 rocket system if his SpaceX business has a chance of completing a planned 48-launch schedule in 2021. Musk said he was […]

October 7, 2020By Chris Forrester

Report: Satellite payloads worth $15bn by 2027

A report from Fortune Business Insights says that the satellite payload market will be worth $15.34 billion by 2027. This growth represents a CAGR of 7.49 per cent. The satellite payloads in the study are made up of private and government satellite and in particular the explosion in growth of communications satellites from the likes […]

October 1, 2020By Chris Forrester

SpaceX readies 13th Starlink launch

Bad weather at the Florida launch site has played havoc with SpaceX’s 13th Starlink launch plans over the past 10 days. A new launch date is set for today, October 1st. SpaceX has a launch window that opens at 09.17am EDT for the launch of 60 Starlink craft. Assuming the weather permits the launch this […]

October 1, 2020By Chris Forrester