OQ Technology puts its first commercial 5g IoT satellite into orbit
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OQ Technology puts its first commercial 5g IoT satellite into orbit

Omar Qaise - OQ Technology 16.9.jpg

OQ Technology confirms the launch of its first commercial 5G IoT satellite bringing it closer to delivering IoT and machine-to-machine services using 5G connectivity.

The company successfully launched its Tiger-2 satellite aboard the SpaceX Transporter-2 rideshare mission organised by Spaceflight. It marks the fourth European Space Agency (ESA) for a 5G agile network configuration via satellite, which includes the installation of a new ground station in Luxembourg and its newly established LEO constellation control centre.

“We have made immense progress this year towards solving the continued lack of terrestrial 5G networks and expensive VSAT satellite costs by growing our constellation and ground infrastructure,” said Omar Qaise, CEO of OQ Technology.

“The fourth ESA contract, following the two million Euro contract with ESA in March, shows the continued trust of our partners in our capabilities. And our LEO constellation control centre together with the Leaf Space ground station will be the initial cornerstones for operating our future fleet of satellites as well as other third-party missions.”

Tiger-2 forms part of OQ Technology’s planned constellation that will consist of more than 60 spacecraft to offer 5G IoT services in remote and rural areas. Tiger-2 will be followed by MACSAT, an ESA-supported agile nanosatellite mission dedicated to 5G IoT in LEO.

Once operational, MACSAT which is being developed by OQ Technology and funded by the Luxembourg Government through an ESA contract in the Luxembourg National Space programme LuxIMPULSE, will be able to process a high capacity of 5G enabled devices.

In addition, OQ Technology was recently awarded a contract with ESA under the ARTES programme to provide technical design and development of a system to address advanced 5G network configurations over LEO, MEO and GEO satellites.

“We can offer a cost-effective 5G network for IoT devices by using both mobile 5G chips and a low-cost infrastructure of LEO nanosatellites,” added Qaise.

“This allows us to bring the 5G revolution to countries and communities deprived of the latest developments in the telecommunication industry. OQ Technology is here to change this soon and make digitalisation available everywhere.”

As a result, ESA and OQ Technology will lead a consortium made of the SIGCOM research group in the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), University of Luxembourg, and Italian ground segment as-a-service company Leaf Space.

OQ Technology has already contracted Leaf Space to procure and install a satellite ground station and connect it to its LEO Constellation Control Centre in Leudelange, Luxembourg. The Leaf Space ground station, together with its satellite operations capabilities, is due to be installed in Bascharage, Luxembourg, a few km away from its LEO constellation control centre.

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