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New Member Interview

How does Kythera Space could easily waste 50% of your power supports all of these tenets of a next-
Solutions empower space efficiency and/or capacity. The result generation dynamic, autonomous
networks? is a far more expensive satellite to SATCOM service.
operate and a higher cost for service.
Kythera is a pioneer in developing The key to a successful satellite service Where does ETSI fit in for
software systems to manage and is getting the cost per bit down, so Kythera Space Solutions?
optimize dynamic, autonomous wasted power and capacity is a killer.
satellite communication (SATCOM) Historically, SATCOM networks were
networks. Modern SATCOM networks And, of course, it’s impossible to get single function and purpose-built with
take advantage of emerging technicians out to a satellite on short no dynamic properties. Standards
communication satellite designs that notice, so resiliency is critical. weren’t even a glimmer in anyone’s
incorporate advanced beamforming What does the future of space eye. But, as we look towards a future
and channelization hardware, all filled with interoperable multi-orbit,
controlled by software that enables networks look like? heterogenous SATCOM networks,
reconfiguration on-the-fly. The Kythera Five years ago, Kythera received a lot strong standards for interoperability,
Operating System – KOS – enables of skepticism for its vision of SATCOM interfacing, and management become
satellite operators to exploit these next- as a real-time, integrated, responsive, a necessity. As a leader in defining
generation, software-defined satellites and resilient service. Today, it is widely the future of dynamic SATCOM, we’re
to dynamically and autonomously accepted that satellite communications keenly interested in defining and
deliver satellite capacity exactly where will increasingly become: furthering these standards to establish
and when it’s needed. that future.
„ Globally integrated and
How are space networks interoperable across satellite Does 5G/6G have a place in
different from terrestrial ones? operators, and between government space?
and commercial satellites;
Space networks are far less mature „ Multi-orbit across satellites in Yes. 5G took the first steps to deliver
than terrestrial ones. Historically, if you different orbital planes, including on the promise of satellite-based
wanted service from a satellite network, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (like Space ubiquitous high-speed connectivity.
you might have had to wait days or X’s Starlink network), medium Earth 6G offers the fulfillment of the initial
weeks to get that service provisioned. Orbit (MEO) (like SES Networks’ promise to deliver a rich set of services
That’s all changing very rapidly at this O3b mPOWER network), and across satellite. However, providing 5G
point, and Kythera’s business focus Geosynchronous Earth Orbit or 6G services is more than turning on
is enabling that shift of SATCOM into (GEO) (like most traditional a base station in space and expecting
a service that operates much more communication satellites); it to “just work”. Deploying any 3GPP
dynamically and autonomously – more „ A unified pool of satellite capacity technology in a SATCOM network
like today’s terrestrial networks. made up of heterogenous satellites requires a sophisticated management
from different manufacturers; solution that enables operators to
Some of the big technical differences maximize their capacity and revenue
we deal with include the fact that „ Dynamic, with the ability to rapidly while minimizing operational expense,
in a satellite network, everything is respond to changing service needs taking into all the unique constraints
moving. The satellites are moving, and adapting to changing operating that characterize a satellite network.
and in many cases, they’re moving and interference conditions; Any such solution must also enable
relative to the users they’re serving, „ Autonomous, with instant decision users to enjoy high-quality, high-speed
who may also be moving. Additionally, making, speeding operations with connectivity in a variety of challenging
satellites are notoriously power, fewer humans needed in the loop; operating environments. At Kythera,
spectrum, and bandwidth limited, „ Resilient, with built-in redundancy we’re offering 5G/6G solutions that
so optimizing capacity and service and service routes. promise to increase power and
becomes a constant battle against spectrum efficiency by up to 10x above
hard constraints. If you don’t properly Kythera is at the forefront of this what a standard 5G/6G architecture
optimize against those constraints, you transformation, with software that can offer.

Enjoy! The ETSI Mag – August 2024 13