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Satnews Daily
October 18th, 2018

ITU Report Reveals Satellite Ka-Band is More Robust than Previously Believed


A posting at Advanced TV indicates that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has stated their studies reveal satellite-based Ka-band is much more robust and less affected by tropical rain-fade than previously believed...  the ITU’s studies remove a significant issue which has seen satellite operators and telcos favoring Ka-band and its ‘spot beam’ technology over more conventional C-band and Ku-band spectrum (at 28 GHz).

However, the ITU’s head of its space services department, Alexandre Vallet, speaking in Paris on October 16, also outlined how the growing demands from 5G operators around the world would be reflected in the future. He said that future 5G deployment would use three sets of frequencies. The 700 MHz band, which has no rain fade issues; the (currently hotly-debated) C-band spectrum around 3.4 GHz, and the Ka-band spectrum already mentioned. He explained that few knew that DirecTV in the U.S., for example, uses Ka-band for their DTH services with few problems.

The service-availability data on Ka-band, even in tropical regions, shows better performance than was forecast by the models,” Vallet said.

However, his statement could result in wider adoption of C-band for 5G but also pose a threat to the considerable investment underway — and planned — for Ka-band by satellite operators.