Several companies are working to launch massive satellite constellations into space to provide super-fast Internet virtually anywhere on Earth. Two of the leading firms advancing this plan, OneWeb of Great Britain and U.S.-based SpaceX, share the same goal—to bring broadband Internet to billions of people who lack access. But it remains unknown whether the new era of space-based connectivity will be spurred by healthy competition or regulatory turf wars over satellite spectrum.
OneWeb, a startup based in Britain’s Channel Islands that plans to launch 600-700 satellites by 2019, has acquired the support of satellite makers like Airbus, would-be launch providers like Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, and several other major corporations.
SpaceX, meanwhile, has advantages of its own. As the world’s fastest-growing launch service provider, the aerospace company plans to launch 4,000 satellites within five years. SpaceX already has built complex satellites in-house. And in January, Google and Fidelity announced a $1 billion bet on the continued success of SpaceX.
Considerably less constructive than the head-to-head business commitments made by these two companies to date, however, are attempts to corral international bureaucrats as competitive leverage.
For both SpaceX and OneWeb, satellite-based Internet will operate in large measure on the Ku-band radio frequency range. OneWeb has been eager to let the world know that it was the first to register some of its plans with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations’ agency that coordinates satellite spectrum frequencies.
