{"id":56643,"date":"2021-09-17T23:58:02","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T15:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/marketplace-interest-in-laser-communications-grows-as-the-technology-matures\/"},"modified":"2021-09-17T23:58:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T15:58:02","slug":"marketplace-interest-in-laser-communications-grows-as-the-technology-matures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/marketplace-interest-in-laser-communications-grows-as-the-technology-matures\/","title":{"rendered":"Marketplace Interest in Laser Communications Grows as the Technology Matures"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Laser communications satellites are poised to help make ultra-secure communications networks possible, with current capability demonstrations showing optical communications using lasers to send greater amounts of data faster to and from space. Executives from Mynaric, LyteLoop, Xenesis, BridgeComm, and Blue Marble Communications discussed recent developments in what is an increasingly important part of the satellite industry, now closing in on attracting more customers beyond the government sources that made up its early customer base.<\/p>\n<h3>Laser is Key to Building Ultra-Secure Communication Networks<\/h3>\n<p>Point-to-point transmission via laser offers a high level of security, according to Tina Ghataore, president of Mynaric USA, a laser communication company. \u201cSecurity just comes inherent in the physics of it,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/oTDCravRx6pyIKF2D76A_VS_ShowDaily20202120Wrap20Up20DGTL_Cover-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"width: 120px; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/oTDCravRx6pyIKF2D76A_VS_ShowDaily20202120Wrap20Up20DGTL_Cover-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/oTDCravRx6pyIKF2D76A_VS_ShowDaily20202120Wrap20Up20DGTL_Cover-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/oTDCravRx6pyIKF2D76A_VS_ShowDaily20202120Wrap20Up20DGTL_Cover-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/oTDCravRx6pyIKF2D76A_VS_ShowDaily20202120Wrap20Up20DGTL_Cover.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"fs-5 mt-0\">Explore the Show Daily 2021 Wrap Up Issue<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-0 fs-smaller text-balance\">Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-primary\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"offcanvas\" data-bs-target=\"#offcanvasMENU\" aria-controls=\"offcanvasExample\" aria-label=\"button\" style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tView More <i class=\"bi bi-arrow-right-circle\"><\/i><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/button><\/p>\n<p>Ed Berger, vice president of business development for LyteLoop, said that his company is developing a storage-in-space application to store data on the photons of light on inter-satellite laser links. This is a hyperscale space-based storage system that allows data to travel over ultra-high bandwidth lasers. \u201cBy its nature, that is attractive with a certain customer set that is looking for a highly secure communications,\u201d Berger said.<\/p>\n<p>Traditional data networks on the ground are \u201claughable\u201d right now, he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot easier to hack a network on the ground than in space. It\u2019s very important for us to have highly secure networks, and the optical networks lend themselves more to that than RF [Radio Frequency communication] does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Optical is merely just another layer, said Mark LaPenna, CEO of Xenesis, and it is not about cool technology. \u201cIt isn\u2019t about replacing RF,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about accentuating it and adding a layer to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a69dba588ec6;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a69dba588ec6 = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a69dba588ec7').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a69dba588ec7'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>As laser communication is in the first stages of commercial adoption, it can be misunderstood. Ghataore reminded the group that they are all on a mission. \u201cOur mission collectively is to really get this out there and stop looking at it as a boutique technology because it\u2019s been looked at, and it\u2019s been demo-ed,\u201d she said. \u201cNow our mission is to make it affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Costs are coming down, and that signals more customer interest to come, LaPenna said. \u201cWhen we designed our first satellite, the total cost of the satellite was $18 million. The majority of that cost was optical heads and the internal switches. We are now at $10 million and going below. The cost in just three years has come down 60 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the technology is developing, investors are lining up but are still skeptical, LaPenna noted. \u201cOne question we heard from investors is, How do you compete with Starlink or OneWeb or other mega-constellation operators?\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s just 4,500 companies connecting 3.5 billion people today, so there is plenty of meat on the bone for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Laser Tech is Poised to Handle an Increasing Volume of Data<\/h3>\n<p>Handling the transportation of an increasing volume of data is a key value point for laser communications. One example: There are expected to be 175 zettabytes (one zettabyte is equal to one sextillion bytes) of data created in 2026, Berger said. \u201cWe are going from gigabytes to terabytes to zettabytes, and that\u2019s a lot of data. Somebody has to move it and someone has to store it. That is what is driving the market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Much of the growth in data can be compared to cellphone development, explained Barry Matsumori, the CEO of BridgeComm, a company developing a global network of optical ground stations. \u201cCellphones used to have low data rates when they first came out,\u201d he said. \u201cThe modulation schemes that existed on those early cellphones were primitive. They had low data rates and supported voice only. But the cellphone that you have in your pocket now is ultra-optimized, and that modem is doing all kinds of modulation schemes. There is so much room for technology growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The development of new technology for ultra-high bandwidth has been a step-by-step process for Neal Nicholson, CEO of Blue Marble Communications. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe went straight for lower data rates. The [U.S.] Department of Defense had been dealing with 300 megabits per second for a while and were quite happy,\u201d he said. \u201cThey hear that they have the opportunity to go to 1 gigabit and they get all excited. Then you talk about 100 gigabit and they are scared \u2014 so we actually are backing out.\u201d For now, he said, they are staying with their 1 through 10 gigabyte solutions. \u201cBut 100 gigabit is there, and it is ready and waiting for the market to say they now we need it. There are customers who we can\u2019t talk about who want to tap into that,\u201d Nicholson said.<\/p>\n<p>The laser communications industry is maturing, but the marketplace is still uncertain about what is evolving. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are actually an industry now,\u201d LaPenna said. \u201cThis is not a group of ragtag unfunded hopefuls. We are all mature business people who understand what the market opportunity is and what their needs are. If I was in the marketplace, what would concern me is: Do we play well with each other? Now we are forming business partnerships and forming coalitions and joint venture agreements. That is really what it is all about.\u201d <strong>VS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\">In This Issue<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 426:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/P0FpXPFRcipHEUAJu9Y7_Diversity-300x199.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/P0FpXPFRcipHEUAJu9Y7_Diversity-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/P0FpXPFRcipHEUAJu9Y7_Diversity-800x532.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/P0FpXPFRcipHEUAJu9Y7_Diversity-640x426.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/P0FpXPFRcipHEUAJu9Y7_Diversity.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tCompanies that Ignore Diversity Will Lose Out, Leading Women in Space Say<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 429:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bnfZLvP6S02yGwI0Hn5q_SatShow-21-2358-300x199.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bnfZLvP6S02yGwI0Hn5q_SatShow-21-2358-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bnfZLvP6S02yGwI0Hn5q_SatShow-21-2358-800x532.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bnfZLvP6S02yGwI0Hn5q_SatShow-21-2358-640x426.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bnfZLvP6S02yGwI0Hn5q_SatShow-21-2358.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tDesign Constraints and Integration Challenges Drive the Search for the Perfect Antenna<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 428:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/XYUYAgHSRuqBTPFj2bim_Ground20Cost-300x199.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/XYUYAgHSRuqBTPFj2bim_Ground20Cost-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/XYUYAgHSRuqBTPFj2bim_Ground20Cost-800x532.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/XYUYAgHSRuqBTPFj2bim_Ground20Cost-640x426.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/XYUYAgHSRuqBTPFj2bim_Ground20Cost.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tGround Segment Faces Upheaval and Transformation With the Entry of Cloud Giants<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laser communications satellites are poised to help make ultra-secure communications networks possible, with current capability demonstrations showing optical communications using lasers to send greater amounts of data faster to and from space. Executives from Mynaric, LyteLoop, Xenesis, BridgeComm, and Blue Marble Communications discussed recent developments in what is an increasingly important part of the satellite [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}