Audacy, a space communications service provider based in the U.S. and Singapore and deploying the first commercially licensed inter-satellite data relay network, has announced that it had achieved a significant milestone by securing pre-service commercial agreements valued at over U.S.$100 million.
The companies represented in these agreements span across the globe and over a wide range of space applications including Earth observation satellites, Internet of Things (IoT) and broadband constellations, launch vehicles, and deep space missions. More than half of the agreements are made with companies headquartered in the U.S. The remaining agreements are split between European and Asia-Pacific companies, including ones from countries like China, Japan, India, Australia, and Singapore. Among the regions around the world, Audacy’s biggest growth has been in Asia-Pacific where the company increased its exposure significantly with the opening of its Singapore office last year.
Audacy’s business model is predicated on the fact that space data demand in low-Earth orbit (LEO) is growing dramatically, with as many as 20,000 new satellites projected to enter service in the next five years with all requiring a method for transmitting data back to Earth. Much of the current growth in space communications is focused on expanding ground networks but because more than two-thirds of the Earth is covered in water, satellites can never achieve more than about 60% communications time, no matter the number of ground antennas built. Audacy argue that only space-based networks can achieve continuous coverage anywhere in LEO.
“Audacy’s space-based network allows operators to get real-time data in space, revolutionizing the way the world uses space data and enabling new applications. Achieving U.S.$100 million in pre-service agreements has exceeded our original projections by a significant margin and clearly validates that Audacy’s value proposition of always-on connectivity is a much-needed solution,” said Sreesh Reddy, Head of Business Development in Audacy’s U.S. office.
Audacy’s ground teleports will be available for commercial use in early 2019, and its relay satellites will enter commercial service in 2020.
Audacy is a space communications service provider focused on delivering continuous connectivity and space data in real-time to owners and operators of satellites. With a spectrum license granted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on 7 June 2018, and by deploying a network of MEO relay satellites and ground facilities, Audacy aims to provide the first commercially available inter-satellite data relay network, enabling seamless LEO coverage and always-on connectivity from the ground to lunar orbit.
