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HAPS, the new communications services business launched by Airbus during Farnborough, will operate as a subsidiary of Airbus Defense and Space. (Photo, courtesy of Airbus)
Airbus will launch a new communications services business with HAPS technology platform Zephyr, led by former Intelsat CCO Samer Halawi. The new venture, HAPS Services Business, is part of Airbus Defense and Space.
HAPS – High Altitude Platform Stations – operate in the stratosphere, much closer to Earth than satellites and can provide communications. Zephyr is an unmanned aerial system (UAS). The Zephyr was originally developed in the early 2000s by QinetiQ, then sold to EADS Astrium, now Airbus Defense and Space.
The current Airbus Zephyr has a wingspan of 25 meters, weighs less than 75 kilograms and is powered by solar energy. In the year In 2018, the system held a record of 25 days, 23 hours and 57 minutes without refueling. The BBC recently reported that flight tracking data indicated that a Zephyr recently spent 26 days in the air, breaking the 2018 record, but Airbus has not commented on the test.
Airbus sees HAPS as having the potential to bridge the digital divide, and claims one Zephyr has coverage equivalent to 250 cell towers and can enable direct device-to-device connectivity. In the year In 2021, Airbus and NTT DOCOMO piloted the Zephyr in the US to provide a data link to simulate future device-to-device communication during flight. Tests included different bandwidths to simulate HAPS direct-to-device service to end users using low, nominal, and maximum bandwidth.
Airbus positions the Zephyr as a complement to existing solutions. “Filling the gap between ground towers, conventional aircraft and satellites, Zephyr is perfectly positioned to complement and improve existing infrastructure,” the company said in a Zephyr statement.
Zephyr is not only for communication and can also be equipped with sensors and used for purposes such as border protection and monitoring the area of crops and wildfires. It has a visual payload coverage of 20 by 30 km.
“Our communications services are a viable alternative to terrestrial and satellite-based communications solutions, enabling for the first time low-latency and direct-to-device connectivity across vast geographies and economic connectivity. Our sustainable technology will help us save and improve lives and do better for our planet.” It enables us, Halawi said.
Halawi was previously Intelsat’s CCO and left the company two months before it emerged from a lengthy Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. He has over 20 years of experience in the satellite industry and was previously CEO of Turaya Telecommunications.
He joins CFO Taz Esmail, who was most recently CFO of Meta Aerospace. She has extensive experience in the aviation, aerospace and defense sectors.
Intelsat and Airbus have both joined the HAPS Alliance, an industry group established in 2020 to promote HAPS, develop common product specifications, and standardize HAPS network interoperability.
Earlier this year, Airbus launched a study with NTT, DOCOMO and SKY Perfect JSAT to explore the feasibility of HAPS-based communication services in a future space-based wireless communication ecosystem.
Airbus is not the first to commercialize HAPS. Google’s parent company Alphabet previously invested in HAPS technology through SubLoon, but will shut down the business in 2021. The mission flew the Loon balloon for 321 days from May 2019 to March 2020 and has formed several partnerships with the satellite industry, including Telesat. But in the end he could not develop a business model.
Lun has been chasing the toughest problem of all in communications — the last billion users: communities in hard-to-reach or remote locations, Lun CEO Alastair Westgarth wrote in 2021. “While we found many willing partners, by the way, we did not find a way to keep the costs down to build a long-term and sustainable business.
This article was originally published by Via Satellite, a sister publication to Avionics International, edited, click here to view the original.
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