Satellite Update

By Doug Lung
published

ViaSat, Inc. asked the FCC for authority to launch and operate Ka-band satellites VIASAT-KA and VIASAT-KA1. The satellites would be located at 115.2 degrees west longitude and 77.3 degrees WL, respectively. Both would operate in the 18.3-18.8 GHz, 19.7-20.2 GHz, 28.35-28.6 GHz and 29.35-30.0 GHz bands. ViaSat requested a waiver of FCC rules requiring disclosure of the relationship between the satellite’s receive antenna gain pattern and gain-to-temperature ratio and saturation flux density. ViaSat also asked for a waiver of rules requiring the disclosure of the gain of each transponder and rules requiring predicted space station antenna gain contours for each transmit and receive antenna beam. This information is from FCC Report SAT-00443.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.