ALCAN Systems, a smart antenna startup from Germany, announced the start of its product development program to produce a fixed ground terminal with an electronically steerable flat-panel antenna for Low Earth orbit (LEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellations that operate on Ka-Band frequencies.
The program is aiming to initiate production in 18 months and make its first antenna deliveries to initial customers by Q4 2021. The antenna is based on ALCAN’s innovative liquid crystal based phased array antenna technology that achieves the lowest unit cost and power consumption performance in the industry:
- The antenna will be priced at EUR 1,500 (full terminal price estimated at EUR 2,500) and can achieve throughputs in excess of 400 Mbps.
- The antenna will have 2D beam steering and will operate across a wide scan angle of +/-55 degrees.
- The antenna will be full-duplex and have slew times less than 20ms, enabling better than 99.5% signal throughput.
- The antenna size will be compact at 55cm x 99cm x9cm and have a weight less than 20Kg. The power consumption of the antenna (including LNB and BUC) will be less than 100W.
- The antenna design is modular and will allow multiple antennas to be combined to achieve higher gain/throughput based on the needs of the customers.
ALCAN is working with its partners to build a mass-production supply chain and assembly capability for the antenna and is targeting first customer deliveries for Q4 2021.
Burak Olcen (Chief Product Officer) said: “We are excited to offer a product which has the lowest total cost of ownership for a flat panel antenna. After discussions with leading MEO and LEO constellation operators, we noticed the need for a standardized antenna which can meet the cost and power challenge of their customers. We designed this terminal around these needs.”
Onur Karabey (Chief Executive Officer) said: “We think this antenna will help drive significant growth in satellite broad-band connectivity enabling MEO and LEO satellite operators and service providers to reach new markets. We look forward to working with our industry partners and customers to deliver on this promise.”
This announcement was released on 15 June 2020 by Alcan Systems.
