Working closely with CEPT/ECC groups, Lacuna Space was a driving force in the development of ECC Report 357 which deals with devices communicating with satellites in the shared frequency range 862-870 MHz, commonly referred to as the 868 MHz SRD band. The report was approved on 4th June and paves the way to ground-breaking new solutions to monitor remote assets and infrastructure.
In our ever increasingly connected world, it is expected that everything can be monitored online. In our personal lives this is now standard practice with smart homes, connected cars, renewable energy monitors, even our daily step count, all being tracked and provided to us “as-a-service”. The same opportunity applies to most Enterprises who wish to make data-driven decisions for best operational efficiency. In practice, many assets and infrastructures remain offline due to lack of suitable terrestrial connectivity in remote places.
While satellite solutions exist already, due to the legacy mindset they are often proprietary, expensive and reliant on license bands, limiting their viability. If operators continue with the same mindset, the outcomes will remain the same: we need to think differently.
To progress, we must embrace that idea that “the internet” thrives on principles of shared resources and protocols operating on a non-exclusive basis. Lacuna Space is on a mission to unlock shared spectrum bands for global use.
On June 4th 2024 the ECC working group for frequency management (WG FM) approved ECC Report 357 which deals with devices communicating direct to satellites in the frequency range 862-870 MHz. This Report describes the satellite operators that (intend to) offer such a solution, the operational concept, technical feasibility and regulatory constraints under which these systems can be accepted by CEPT countries.
“Germany has supported such systems and the accompanying regulatory work since many years. We have assessed at which power levels satellite-to-SRD transmissions are acceptable in Germany and based on this granted Lacuna Space authorisation in 2020” says Thomas Weber from BNetzA’s satellite services department. “We have also tested with Lacuna Space at our satellite monitoring station in Leeheim to confirm that their system can successfully operate while not exceeding the imposed limits.”
The next step will be to draft an “ECC Decision” which will formalise the process needed to authorise SRD-satellite communications in the 862-870 MHz band. The work on this Decision has already kicked off at the WG FM June meeting.
“We are happy to see that European administrations support the idea behind SRD-satellite communications” added Martin von der Ohe, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Lacuna Space. “Germany has been at the forefront of this work, and we now see that various administrations like Azerbaijan, Croatia, France, Spain and Turkiye actively support the continued development”.
Lacuna Space’s low-power satellite IP is not limited to sub-GHz bands or LEO orbits. The technology is available for other satellite operators and is already proven in LEO, MEO, GEO orbits, and in multiple sub-GHz bands, S-Band, using either store-and-forward (gateway on the satellite payload) or bent-pipe (gateway in the ground station) architectures.
As the leading innovator in the direct-to-satellite IoT space, Lacuna welcomes partnerships, collaboration and licencing options with all constellation operators.