Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RF Beamformer (Ultra-low-cost terminals that meet the special requirements of all satellite operators allowing them to access markets currently inaccessible due to terminal economics.)
Reporting period: 2018-08-01 to 2018-11-30
Internet is vital to people´s lives today. The internet accounts for 3.4% of GDP growth in 13 countries and 21% of GDP growth in the last five years of the more mature countries. New cloud services are making it a necessity for starting and growing small businesses, as well as advancing industries as varied as education, health care, agriculture, small-business development and humanitarian response. However, more than half of the world's population still does not have access to internet. Even in Europe, which enjoys the world’s highest rate of connectivity, there are still 20% of people unconnected. Africa and Asia have the lowest percentage of internet user penetration, with only 21.8% and 38% of the population having internet access, respectively. Without access to the internet, unconnected communities are at a disadvantage, and the digital gap will continue to grow wider. Adroit economics found that not having internet access increasingly contributes to decline of communities , SMEs cannot compete and either close or relocate; start-ups cannot start or start somewhere else; home working is not enabled; houses will not sell; tourists will find it more difficult to rent holiday homes or rooms in hotels; and public services will become inefficient. Despite this, 4 billion people still do not have broadband connectivity.
Traditional wireless networks are expensive to install or expand and consequently low subscriber areas and less lucrative developing regions will likely never see cellular access. Satellite Internet has become a reasonable way to achieve internet access where previously there was none. Satellite access offers more than 5,000 times the spectrum compared to terrestrial networks -plus it is global and cover land, sea and air. As more and more High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) and Medium/Low Earth Orbit (MEO / LEO) satellite constellations launch and the cost of building satellites continues to decrease, even more spectrum will become available. Nevertheless, technology has not been fast, reliable, or responsive enough to compete with modern fiber or cable-based internet, mainly due to the drawbacks of the ground terminals (antennas).
Through our work to-date we have proven our unique technology and established a viable product design for a terminal solution targeting the consumer broadband mass market. ISOtenna is an antenna that provides the benefits of a phased array antenna but with better performance and at a fraction of the cost. ISOtenna allows easy, massive scale deployment of satellite broadband to connect the unconnected and open up a new high growth opportunity for satellite broadband throughout developed and emerging markets
Traditional wireless networks are expensive to install or expand and consequently low subscriber areas and less lucrative developing regions will likely never see cellular access. Satellite Internet has become a reasonable way to achieve internet access where previously there was none. Satellite access offers more than 5,000 times the spectrum compared to terrestrial networks -plus it is global and cover land, sea and air. As more and more High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) and Medium/Low Earth Orbit (MEO / LEO) satellite constellations launch and the cost of building satellites continues to decrease, even more spectrum will become available. Nevertheless, technology has not been fast, reliable, or responsive enough to compete with modern fiber or cable-based internet, mainly due to the drawbacks of the ground terminals (antennas).
Through our work to-date we have proven our unique technology and established a viable product design for a terminal solution targeting the consumer broadband mass market. ISOtenna is an antenna that provides the benefits of a phased array antenna but with better performance and at a fraction of the cost. ISOtenna allows easy, massive scale deployment of satellite broadband to connect the unconnected and open up a new high growth opportunity for satellite broadband throughout developed and emerging markets
During the Phase 1 Study we have: reviewed the product development plan, reviewed the industrialisation plan, updated the risk analysis, performed new market searches and competitors' analyisis, including a review of the IP landscape, updated the financial forecast for the ISOtenna commercialisation.
ISOtenna has effectively overcame the issues of the broadband satellite market. ISOtenna´s lens-based beamforming is a key differentiator between its technology and current state-of-the-art phased array technologies that allows us to significantly reduce the number of elements. Ultimately, this result in an ultra-low cost terminal that uses conventional materials and conventional circuits -providing a breakthrough in terms of radio frequency propagation that will transform the satellite marketplace. Due to the reduction in elements and based on conversations with satellite operators, none of the competitors identified during this Study can offer pricing which either enables or significantly benefits the business case in different markets