Satellite group OneWeb prepares for Australian operations, attracts Defence scrutiny OneWeb, a proposed global constellation of around 700 satellites backed by some of the largest tech companies on the planet, is preparing for its entry into the Australian market, CommsDay can reveal. The company – whose initial investors include Airbus, Japan's Softbank, Qualcomm and Richard Branson's Virgin Group – has already applied to the Australian Communications and Media Authority for initial regulatory approvals, with a decision expected in the coming weeks. However its application has also attracted the attention of the Department of Defence, which wrote to the ACMA warning of the potential of the proposed system to interfere with existing satellites. OneWeb was founded by Greg Wyler, who's earlier ventures included starting the O3b network of medium-earth orbit satellites now owned by SES. Its board includes Richard Branson, Qualcomm chairman Paul Jacobs, Airbus CEO Thomas Enders and Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti. It is one of a group of companies that have proposed large constellations of low-earth orbit satellites to provide ubiquitous global coverage, but also the most advanced in terms of deployment. In June this year it received unanimous backing from the Federal Communications Commission to enter the American market. “The FCC vote, by the full commission, is important as it is the first of its kind for satellite systems like OneWeb and we are appreciative of their shared efforts and vision to make affordable internet access available for everyone,” Wyler said at the time. It has also set up a joint venture with Airbus called OneWeb Satellites that will manufacture low-cost satellites at high-volumes. It plans to produce up to 15 satellites per week by pioneering large volume spacecraft production. The first launch of an initial 10 production satellites is slated for early 2018, with a full launch campaign expected to start six months later, culminating in broadband access in 2019. It claims it will offer 7 Tbps of new global capacity and gigabit speeds to users and schools. AUSTRALIAN REGULATORY PUSH: The company's application to the ACMA has been done through an associate entity called Network Access Associates out of London in the UK. It is seeking approval to be included on the Radiocommunications (Foreign Space Objects) Determination – the first step in obtaining a licence to operate in Australia. Schedule one of the Determination contains a list of 15 satellite operators that have gone through the same process, with OneWeb now applying to be added as the 16th company on the list. Operators on the list are then able to apply for a radiocommunication apparatus licence that authorises communications between space stations and earth stations in various frequency bands and also facilitates the ACMA considering applications to issue licences for such services. In a letter to ACMA from OneWeb, the company said it was hopeful that the ACMA board would see fit to formally finalise the amended determination. "OneWeb wishes to offer its support and its ongoing confirmation of the need to be included in the update to the Foreign Space Objects Determination as set out in the consultation process,” the company said in the letter to the ACMA. “This is a critical step towards the involvement of OneWeb in the Australian market for the provision of high quality and low latency broadband satellite services to rural and remote areas, as well as enterprise and government broadband applications.” DEFENCE WARNS ON INTERFERENCE: While no Australian commercial operators have so far objected to OneWeb being added to the determination, the Department of Defence has made a submission to the ACMA warning of interference issues. David Murray, director of the Defence Spectrum Office, said that looking at compatibility with existing services was particularly important as the number and complexity of satellite constellations rapidly increases. “Defence strongly recommends that the ACMA assessment procedure should require evidence that coordination agreements with existing Australian satellite operators are in place, prior to licensing additional satellite operators,” he said. The Defence submission pointed out that the OneWeb constellation makes use of “novel techniques” that attempt to avoid interference from LEO satellites to GEO satellites. “One technique is Progressive Pitch, whereby a OneWeb LEO satellite would be programmed to blank transmissions as it passes through the path of GEO satellites. It should be noted that Defence has several satellite networks that have inclinations as high as 8 degrees. Current and future GSO satellite networks, with high inclination, require protection under Article 22.2 of the Radio Regulations,” Murray noted. He also pointed out the potential use of “reverse-banding”, where the conventional uplink frequencies are used for downlinks and vice-versa. Defence suggested that this is likely to require additional interference mitigation measures for earth stations. A spokesperson for ACMA said the application for inclusion on schedule one of the Foreign Space Objects Determination is currently being processed, with an outcome expected in the coming weeks. Geoff Long, Commsday.