Echostar, a traditional satellite operator, announced that it would launch a 28 LEO satellite constellation to provide S-band IoT connectivity. Echostar plans to use prime S-band spectrum that it owns for these new services. Lorawan protocol will be used to communicate with the devices. Astro Digital is the main contractor for the satellites.
This announcement is a new addition to the large number of existing projects, increasing the competition and the risk for many projects. Echostar takes a low risk approach to build on an existing ecosystem (Lora), with a large number of companies involved and no major technical barriers as this approach has been proven both by Echostar and Lacuna Space. This could be the easiest way to success as the barriers in these projects are always the same: regulatory, technical, financial and business. While Echostar ticks the first three, the gotomarket is still the major open question. But Echostar will benefit from the global Lorawan ecosystem.
For more information: https://spacenews.com/cash-rich-echostar-to-take-on-global-iot-market-next-year/