Telesat Lightspeed vs. SpaceX StarlinkPretty different strategies, but challenging SpaceX feels alot like like BBD CSeries going up against AB 320Neo. David vs Goliath. Winner winner chicken dinner. More importantly though, what role does MDA play in TSAT's Lightspeed?
>>>It looks like neither SpaceX nor Telesat will have trouble financing their first production constellations. Telesat says it will need $5 billion, and it has existing GEO revenue, government support for rural connectivity, revenue from the sale of C-band spectrum and loans, and is planning a public stock offering to complete Lightspeed funding. SpaceX says it will need $10 billion, but it has received five grants and completed 15 funding rounds.
>>>SpaceX is vertically integrated, manufacturing satellites and components like phased-array antennas, ISLLs, and user terminals, as well as launching their own satellites. SpaceX will develop most of their system in house but will partner with Microsoft and Google on the ground segment and also uses LeoLab’s satellite tracking service. Telesat is handling marketing and customer relations but will outsource launch service, system integration, satellite design and manufacturing, laser terminals, antennas, the operating system, etc. to others.
>>>SpaceX beta testers are reporting download speeds of 50 to 150 Mbs and latency from 20ms to 40ms with occasional dropouts. Capacity will improve as more satellites are launched but the available capacity will be shared by more users. Telesat will have far fewer customers but will offer guaranteed service-level contracts with speeds up to 7.5 Gbps to a single terminal or 20 Gbps to a hotspot.
https://circleid.com/posts/20210519-spacex-starlink-vs-telesat-lightspeed