AUSTRALIA’S Sky and Space Global ASX: SAS) is on the way to its aim of revolutionising global telecommunications with a suite of new technologies featuring a fleet of hundreds of nano-satellites circling the earth.
An Australian company is set to revolutionise global telecommunications using a fleet of hundreds of nano-satellites as big as a shoe box.
It wasn’t too long ago that SAS’ technology and concepts would have been considered a sci-fi dream, but the ASX-listed company has already proven that it’s game-changing telecommunications system is the real deal when it recently became the first company in the world to successfully make phone call, instant messaging, voice recording and instant messaging via nano-satellites.
A major operational milestone for SAS’ exciting global communication services development, the successful transmission operation was completed on multiple testing runs over a number of days.
Sky and Space Global’s CEO and Managing Director, Meir Moalem, said the company’s breakthrough technology will enable low-cost satellite connectivity in remote locations and in emerging markets that have no access to a communications network infrastructure.
“This global breakthrough in the use of nano-satellite technology is a real game-changer for telecommunications sector, particularly in some of the fastest-growing mobile phone take-up regions of the world,” Mr Moalem said.
“After months of hard work we are now putting our vision into practice. Our technology works and we have demonstrated that our nano-satellites are capable of facilitating services such as sending a text message and conducting a voice call at a very low cost.
“This is an important step forward on our route to providing affordable communication services to Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime.
“Now we have passed this critical technical milestone we can turn our full attention to our constellation, to be fully deployed by 2020,” he added.
Mr Moalem says that until recently, nano-satellites have been predominantly used for earth observation and imagery, but with advancements in miniature space technology their capabilities have become increasingly sophisticated.
“What is unique about the Sky and Space Global service offering is that it delivers phone call, text and data services at a fraction of the cost of traditional satellite communications providers due to a major differential in the capital cost for the infrastructure,” Mr Moalem said.
Impressively the recent first call utilised SAS’s proprietory 3 Diamonds nano-satellite technology, a standard smartphone and SAS proprietary hardware and application.
Along with enabling a voice call, the 3 Diamonds nano-satellites have also demonstrated their capability to facilitate the exchange of text messages, voice recordings and images between different users.
As part of this process, SAS has successfully tested the ‘store and forward’ capability of its technology, which includes sending a message to the satellite, keeping it in satellite memory and downloading it to a receiver.
The company has also demonstrated that its services can provide indoor connectivity, by enabling users to install a Radio Frequency (RF) section on a rooftop or another outdoor area and connecting it to an indoor Wi-Fi hot-spot to add multiple users to the network.
Mr Moalem said the company now plans to continue testing for advanced capabilities in preparation for the commercial deployments of its nano-satellites.
This includes building a constellation of 200 satellites, which Mr Moalem said is the main path to commercial success for SAS and the company’s vision for a better world supplied with more reliable and cost effectives telcommunications, Sky and Space Global has already signed its first binding commercial contract with Sat-Space Africa, a pan-African communications company and is on the verge of concluding further binding commercial contracts with other wholesale data operators. The sky is the limit for this exciting young Australian company.
