Singapore start-up SSII is partnering with German satellite maker OHB System to develop the world’s first Asia-based low Earth orbit internet constellation.
Singapore start-up SSII is partnering with German satellite maker OHB System to develop the world’s first Asia-based low Earth orbit internet constellation.
The two groups signed a design contract today at an event addressed by Lord Peter Mandelson, a former UK MP who is chairman of SSII’s (Singapore Space Intelligent Internet) advisory board.
Few details were revealed about the six-month-old company, one of a number of LEO internet start-ups to be announced in recent years – mostly in the US – amid a favourable climate for venture capital and debt funding.
Co-founder and CTO Lim Seng told SatelliteFinance after the event that the multibillion dollar constellation will likely comprise about 300 satellites, and that it will finance at least the first three of them itself to begin launching in 2019.
SSII is owned by Anderson Group Holding, a real estate and high technology investor that was founded in Hong Kong in 1993 by Chan Ki, who is SSII’s president.
Anderson’s projects include the redevelopment of Tianjin Old City in China. In 1999, Chan Ki founded Anderson Information Technology, which paved the way for China.com to become the first US-listed Chinese internet stock. Its investments include oCen Communications, one of the first companies to establish an IP network and offer internet telephone services to Greater China.
Lim Seng, a scientist and an engineer, started his career at Singapore’s Ministry of Defence, and is a former VP of global strategies and VP of defence (APAC) at what is now Airbus Group.
He said OHB’s design review will suggest the best frequency bands and orbital slots for SSII by September, when it will seek regulatory approval for the constellation through Singapore regulator Infocomm Development Authority.
But the group is also talking to three large satellite operators about the possibility of using some of their spectrum allocations.
At the launch event today, SSII announced plans to create a new body called International Space Internet Union (ISIU), which will call on regulators across the world to consolidate spectrum and orbital requirements and help coordinate ‘space internet’ providers.
The group warned that satellite operators will need more unified spectrum if the internet is to function efficiently in the future. It said extra capacity is key for satellite-based internet services to remain competitive against terrestrial networks, which will not be equipped to meet future demand for data.
Speaking at the launch event, Mandelson said: “As demand for bandwidth grows exponentially and we become more reliant on internet-based services, there is a clear imperative to deepen the links between the multiple players who are currently planning to launch space-based internet services.
“In a world where both orbit space and spectrum have become precious commodities, we need to learn to work together, towards the creation of a single internet in space rather than a collection of fragmented private networks.”
Other companies working on a satellite internet system include Californian rocket launcherSpaceX and Greg Wyler’s OneWeb venture, which is being backed by fleet operator Intelsat.
Spectrum coordination is key to get any satellite internet business off the ground, however, regulatory rights are closely guarded by incumbent operators. Earlier this month, Intelsat called on regulators to block SpaceX’s application for an experimental licence to test its broadband satellites, citing potential interference concerns.
