Lifeboat Foundation

In 1978, NASA scientist Donald Kessler warned of a potential catastrophic, cascading chain reaction in outer space. Today known as “Kessler Syndrome,” the theory posited that space above Earth could one day become so crowded, so polluted with both active satellites and the detritus of space explorations past, that it could render future space endeavors more difficult, if not impossible.

Last week, the CEO of Rocket Lab, a launch startup, said the company is already beginning to experience the effect of growing congestion in outer space.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said that the sheer number of objects in space right now — a number that is growing quickly thanks in part to SpaceX’s satellite internet constellation, Starlink — is making it more difficult to find a clear path for rockets to launch new satellites.

SpaceX disclosed the benchmarks in a presentation the company sent to the FCC last Friday. It also revealed the public beta for Starlink is coming to multiple US states.

The 2 Gig service is targeting households with heavy internet users who are now forced to work from home due to COVID-19. “So we’re more than a little excited to announce 2 Gig today—bringing even more bandwidth and speed to customers in internet-intensive households who may need more than a gig to do their thing, whatever that may be,” wrote Amalia O’Sullivan, Google Fiber’s director of product management, in the announcement. (That said, upload speeds will remain at 1Gbps.)

Google Fiber is currently looking for subscribers in Nashville, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama, to sign up as testers for the 2 Gig service. The beta will then roll out to other Google Fiber cities in the fall before the official launch. Interested customers can also go to the Google Fiber website to sign up for email updates on the 2Gbps service’s availability.

Today, the Department of Defense announced $600 million in awards for 5G experimentation and testing at five U.S. military test sites, representing the largest full-scale 5G tests for dual-use applications in the world. Each installation will partner military Services, industry leaders, and academic experts to advance the Department’s 5G capabilities. Projects will include piloting 5G-enabled augmented/virtual reality for mission planning and training, testing 5G-enabled Smart Warehouses, and evaluating 5G technologies to enhance distributed command and control.

“The Department of Defense is at the forefront of cutting edge 5G testing and experimentation, which will strengthen our Nation’s warfighting capabilities as well as U.S. economic competitiveness in this critical field. Through these test sites, the Department is leveraging its unique authorities to pursue bold innovation at a scale and scope unmatched anywhere else in the world. Importantly, today’s announcement demonstrates the Department’s commitment to exploring the vast potential applications and dual-use opportunities that can be built upon next-generation networks,” said Michael Kratsios, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

The test sites include: Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia; Naval Base San Diego, California; and Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada.

WASHINGTON — SpaceX, Hughes Network Systems and Viasat are eligible to compete for a share of the $20.4 billion in broadband subsidies the FCC plans to dole out under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) starting later this month.

The Federal Communications Commission on Oct. 13 released a list of “qualified bidders” for the RDOF funds, which will be awarded via reverse auction to telecom providers bidding to bring subsidized voice and broadband internet services to rural communities and other underserved parts of the United States.

FCC’s list of qualified bidders includes 386 telecom providers, including SpaceX, Hughes and Viasat.

Researchers have developed a new approach to printed electronics which allows ultra-low power electronic devices that could recharge from ambient light or radiofrequency noise. The approach paves the way for low-cost printed electronics that could be seamlessly embedded in everyday objects and environments.

Electronics that consume tiny amounts of power are key for the development of the Internet of Things, in which everyday objects are connected to the internet. Many emerging technologies, from wearables to healthcare devices to smart homes and smart cities, need cost-effective transistors and electronic circuits that can function with minimal energy use.

Printed electronics are a simple and inexpensive way to manufacture electronics that could pave the way for low-cost electronic devices on unconventional substrates—such as clothes, plastic wrap or paper—and provide everyday objects with ‘intelligence’.

* Unsecured home security cameras hijacked * Stolen images circulate on Discord * Everyone needs to take IoT security more seriously.

In Singapore it’s not at all uncommon today for people to have IP cameras all over their homes.

And, of course, the more people who installed internet-connected cameras throughout their private residences the more you would be considered odd if you hadn’t jumped on the bandwagon, and put cameras in your living room, kitchen, bedroom, sometimes even with a view of even more private areas of your house.

Satellite communication has been serving the terrestrial network as a complementor rather than a competitor for a considerable time. The best use-case scenario is the cellular backhaul over VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) to connect remotely installed BTS (Base Transceiver Station) of a cellular network through a geostationary satellite to the respective BSC (Base Station Controller) and ultimately the core network. This technology enabled MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) to increase their subscribers base in remote communities which could not be connected to their network grid through Microwave or Fibre transmission. Similar network architecture, commonly known as bent-pipe and FSS (Fixed Satellite Service), has been used by other networks requirements of ISP (Internet Service Providers), Government, Corporate, Oil & Gas, Mining sectors, where the DCE (Data Communication Equipment) and DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) are replaced from BTS and BSC to networking switches and routers.

However, all these communications are struggling to keep at par with development at terrestrial networks, and the main reason is staggering latency of around 530 milliseconds for a roundtrip of a message through the satellites at an altitude of around 37,000 kilometres, which is a big challenge for Industry 4.0 technologies. The arrival of the planned NGSO mega constellation appears to address the problem through claimed significantly lower latency of around 4 milliseconds, which is at par with fibre optics.

The integration of the networks of mega constellations with those on the ground is a complicated situation with multiple dynamics to analyse. Let us have a brief look at 4G LTE and 5G NR technology and analyse the integration for both backhaul and fronthaul interfaces through NGSO satellites with the core networks.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has announced that his space internet project is ready for public use. The statement comes after SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit last week, bringing the total number to almost 800.

Eventually, SpaceX plans to launch tens of thousands of Starlink satellites to create a blanket around the Earth capable of beaming high-speed broadband internet to 99% of the inhabited world.