Tag: Internet
-
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai endorses SpaceX’s plan for satellite broadband service
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is on board with SpaceX’s satellite plan. (Flickr Photo / FCCDotGov) SpaceX’s plan to beam broadband services to America and the world via its Starlink satellite constellation got a big thumbs-up today from Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Pai’s endorsement isn’t exactly a surprise: The FCC already has…
-
Why net neutrality’s peril raises the stakes for future satellite broadband options
An artist’s conception shows a constellation of satellites in orbit. (OneWeb Illustration) The Federal Communication Commission’s plan to start rolling back regulations on net neutrality comes as bad news for streaming video providers like Amazon and Netflix, and potentially for consumers as well, but it could also bring more attention to an emerging avenue for…
-
SpaceX’s broadband internet satellite plan reportedly runs into opposition
A SpaceX satellite coverage scheme described in a patent application envisions two sets of satellites orbiting in different inclinations at different altitudes. (PatentYogi via YouTube) SpaceX’s plan to provide global broadband internet access using thousands of satellites in low-earth orbit has come under fire from competitors, including Boeing and OneWeb, according to Space Intel Report.…
-
Intelsat-OneWeb satellite merger falls apart due to doubts about debt swap
The OneWeb satellite venture says it has terminated its deal for a mega-merger with Intelsat because not enough of Intelsat’s bondholders agreed to a debt swap. The deal would have been facilitated by a $1.7 billion investment from Softbank, but it was contingent on a go-ahead from at least 85 percent of the bondholders. In…
-
SpaceX to launch first homegrown satellite this year, plans broadband network in 2019
SpaceX plans to launch its own satellites on Falcon 9 rockets, like the one shown here lifting off from NASA’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. (SpaceX Photo) SpaceX has laid out its latest schedule for the satellite broadband service it’s developing in the Seattle area, starting with the launch of a prototype satellite by the…
-
SpaceX files FCC application for internet access network with 4,425 satellites
SpaceX celebrated the announcement of a Seattle-area satellite operation by lighting up its logo at Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center. (GeekWire photo) SpaceX has laid out further details about a 4,425-satellite communications network that’s expected to provide global broadband internet access, with its Seattle-area office playing a key role in its development. The plan is…
-
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg ‘deeply disappointed’ to lose his satellite in SpaceX’s rocket explosion
Mark Zuckerberg saw the Amos-6 satellite as the first step in Facebook’s plan to provide satellite internet access to underserved regions of the world. Today’s loss of a Falcon 9 rocket and its satellite payload was a bummer for Facebook billionaire founder Mark Zuckerberg as well as for SpaceX billionaire founder Elon Musk. “As I’m…
-
David Bowie, 1947-2016: No longer a space oddity, now hailed by science heroes
David Bowie helped develop the story for a video game titled “Omikron: The Nomad Soul” in 1999, and portrayed a character named Boz. (Credit: Eidos Interactive via YouTube) Rock superstar David Bowie, who died of cancer over the weekend at the age of 69, became famous as a “Space Oddity” and “The Man Who Fell…