Supplying a diverse cache of satellite services is currently a major driver among industry executives needing to increase their profit margins. The commercial satellite payload operators catering to global clients are now exploring new opportunities outside of the traditional C- and Ku- and more recently utilized Ka-band spectrums. One band some satellite service providers are using to enhance their respective portfolios rests between 7-8 Ghz in the middle of the C- and Ku-bands.
Historically, X-band has been a military band, reserved on allocation charts for NATO allies and the U.S. government to use for their communication needs. For other countries around the world, however, X-band has also been allocated for commercial use and there are commercial services--although somewhat limited in scope, such as serving as feeder links for digital audio broadcasting services--that operate within this band.
Now the question remains as to how much more involvement should occur between the commercial sector and the military client in reference to offering X-band capacity. The next few years will be telling, but today, some commercial communication companies are banking on X-band's success and have already incorporated this frequency into some of their next generation spacecraft. Further opening up X-band opportunities to the private sector, some argue, can be beneficial to the global commercial industry as a whole.
For one, there is a high demand for more spectrum. Throughout recent years, many terrestrial services have been beating the satellite industry out for new spectrum. Examples include terrestrial wireless local loop services in rural areas operating in C- and Ku-band, as well as terrestrial microwave-type services who desire access to frequencies that have been allocated globally, and even in the United States, as satellite-only spectrum.
In addition, some commercial satellite executives wanting to further increase their relations with their government client believe expanding into X-band can provide an excellent opportunity without harming the military's need for the same spectrum, but rather enhancing it for them. For one, the military is starting to use more commercial capacity, particularly in surge areas.
"Commercial X-band is of interest to the Defense Department (DoD)," says Mary Ann Elliott, president and CEO of Arrowhead Global Solutions Inc. "There are multiple carriers pitching their X-band capacity, and though challenging, all are trying to obtain a long-term commitment in order to finalize brining their product to market."
In addition, those advocating more X-band commercial involvement stress that it would be advantageous to be able to use commercial capacity that is in orbit, particularly during surge spikes, in a band that they are already familiar with and have the equipment that can operate with it.
"Because of the current global political climate, the military cannot support the spikes of communication demand with only its own military constellation," says Greg Harms, vice president of sales for Space Systems/Loral. "Such spikes may best be met with more commercial involvement."
Another obstacle that can be defeated with an increased involvement of the commercial industry within the X-band arena centers on lowering the terminal costs. If commercial companies who are out there making such terminals increased their order books by signing on additional military clients, it may lower the per-unit and overall cost in terms of the DoD's procurement for these systems.
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