Pavel Cherenkov — about work on subscriber terminals, protection of the orbital frequency resource of the Sphere groupings, the estimated cost of the program's services and their priority over Starlink and OneWeb in RussiaIn December 2022, JSC "Gonets Satellite System", which is the operator of the orbital grouping of the same name, turns 25 years old.
Currently, there are 18 Gonets spacecraft in orbit, and 28 satellites will be included in the promising grouping. In the summer of this year, a company — operator of the satellite program "Sphere" with the same name appeared through reorganization. It is controlled by JSC "Satellite system "Messenger". Pavel Cherenkov, CEO of Gonets Satellite System JSC, told TASS in an interview about the work on subscriber terminals, the protection of the orbital frequency resource of the Sphere groupings, the estimated cost of the program's services and their priority over Starlink and OneWeb in Russia.
— Pavel Gennadievich, what challenges did the company have to face this year?— This year our company has a double anniversary.
At the end of December, it will be 25 years since its foundation, and in the summer we also celebrated 30 years since the first launch of the Messenger series satellites. In 2022, many satellite operators left the Russian market or significantly limited their activities, and our company was tasked with providing communication to customers from various segments of satellite communications. Many disconnected subscribers used mobile terminals, so the Messenger system will have to replace the services of operators who have left the market and make them as accessible as possible. Due to the rise in price of the electronic component base, one terminal now costs about 150 thousand rubles, and our task is to reduce the cost to 60-70 thousand rubles per subscription set. To this end, we have been intensively and fruitfully cooperating this year with two private organizations that work under our control and with our participation.
— Has the number of requests for your services increased significantly recently?— Yes, we see a drastic increase.
Now there are already 10 times more applications for connections for 2023, secured by advances or firm contracts, than we received for the whole of 2022. Therefore, we expect that the coming year will be very fruitful.
— This year, through reorganization, the Sphere company was formed, which will become the operator of the program of the same name. Will she be the operator of a promising "Messenger"?— The Sphere operator company has indeed been created, and its activities will become the basis for the development and operation of promising orbital groupings of the Skif, Marathon, Express—RV and
Messenger-M1". To avoid confusion in words, I note that there is a federal project "Sphere" and there is a legal entity of the same name — its operator.
There are two main tasks in the operator's work. The first is to manage satellites and their resources. To do this, there is a staff of specialists who monitor the condition and operation of the devices around the clock, adjust orbits, make reports. The second, and more important for users, is the creation of subscription services. In this part, it is important to note that the next-generation Messenger system is managed by the Messenger company, so it is logical to provide all related services, including the Sphere project, from a single "window". This optimizes the operator's work and has a positive effect on the quality and availability of services. Today, even competing operators of FSUE "Space Communications" and JSC "Gazprom Space Systems" essentially reserve each other's communication channels, which provides guaranteed access to services.
— That is, through the Sphere operator, it will be possible to immediately get access to broadband Internet, the Internet of Things, and telephone communications?— Yes, the integration of all the possibilities of the "Sphere" for consumers will be carried out on the basis of an operator through which it will be possible to receive a full range of services.
Even now, Gonets has begun to cooperate with existing telecom operators, including FSUE Kosmicheskaya Svyaz (GP KS — TASS note). In general, there is an agreement with both Gazprom and the SOE CS that we will cooperate on mutually beneficial terms, serving consumers of the relevant segments and providing the maximum possible range of subscriber services.
— When will services based on the Marathon grouping be available to users?— The Marathon grouping will be based on the same principles as the Skif system.
At the initial stage, Roscosmos will launch a demonstration device that will confirm the validity of the constructive plan — this is planned for 2023. The preliminary design of the Marathon is currently underway, and based on the results, a final decision will be made on the composition of the payload and the appearance of the spacecraft. Then Roscosmos plans to launch a demonstrator and test the embedded technologies on it. At the next stage, approximately in 2024, five more satellites will be launched and the development of interactions at the system level will begin.
In 2025-2026, Roscosmos plans to deploy half of the Marathon orbital group, which will allow us, as an operator, to begin providing services to end users. With regard to the Skif system, it is now necessary to confirm the orbital frequency resource using the Skif-D demonstrator satellite, launched on October 22 this year from the Vostochny cosmodrome together with a troika of Messengers.
— What will it take?— First, an international application for frequency bands is being formed, which was submitted back in 2016.
It contains a certain set of data: the frequency ranges in which the system will function, the characteristics of onboard and ground-based electronic means, the composition of the orbital grouping, orbit parameters, information about the customer of the project, the manufacturing company, and some others.
The application for the range required for the operation of Skif was submitted by one of the Russian companies with which our organization concluded an agreement to obtain the necessary set of rights in relation to the orbital frequency resource.
There is another important point. The frequency resource is limited, but our application was received by the International Telecommunication Union among the first, before applications from Starlink and OneWeb were submitted there. Accordingly, we expect that it will be coordinated with priority over all other applicants who submitted their applications later than us. As far as we know, there are about 350 such organizations, and all of them claim exactly this orbit and these frequencies.
— It turns out that Starlink and OneWeb claim the same frequencies?— Yes, they claim exactly these frequency bands for use on the territory of Russia.
In fact, we are in direct competition with these systems. Starlink and OneWeb have already come out with a proposal to coordinate frequencies, but to date we have not accepted the offer to coordinate, that is, in fact, we do not allow them to use their satellite systems on the territory of the Russian Federation.
— How is the protection of rights to a frequency resource?— For these purposes, the launched demonstration device must transmit a signal in the declared frequency ranges within 90 days.
In this case, the satellite must be in orbit with the specified altitude and inclination characteristics.
— That is, one satellite that is currently in orbit is enough?— Yes, one satellite is enough to confirm the frequencies, but the regulations of the International Communications Union strictly prescribe that during the first three years at least 10% of the declared grouping should be deployed.
That is, if you have 100 satellites, you need to launch ten, if the grouping consists of ten vehicles, you need to launch one. There are 12 vehicles in our application, respectively, in order to confirm the rights to the orbital frequency resource in three years, we will need to have at least one more Skif satellite in orbit.
— Will there be a separate application for the Marathon or the same one?— For the frequencies of the Marathon system, the situation is a little different.
Firstly, we propose to use unlicensed frequency bands, which are used, among other things, for data transmission in IoT (Internet of Things — TASS) systems. Here, the market focus of the system, which is largely focused on this market, played a certain driver. We also propose to use the frequency bands that have already been allocated for the Messenger system for the Marathon.
— And what does the situation with the frequencies for Express-RV look like?— There is a valid application for frequencies for the Express-RV system, which expires in the first quarter of 2026.
Therefore, the main task is to launch the first spacecraft at the end of 2025 and thereby confirm the orbital frequency resource. In general, we are in a kind of pursuit of frequencies. In fact, frequency ranges in conjunction with the characteristics of the orbits are an irreplaceable resource of the Russian Federation, which we should not lose.
— What is this pursuit of frequencies for? — Frequencies are different, and each range has its own characteristics.
There are low frequencies, medium, high, ultra-high and others. With regard to use in communication channels — there is a direct relationship between the data transfer rate and the frequency range: the higher the frequency, the higher the transmission rate. The constant increase in the volume of transmitted data requires the use of ever higher ranges. But at the same time, the higher we go up the frequency spectrum and, accordingly, shorten the wavelength, the more difficult it is to transmit information, since atmospheric and other interference leads to signal attenuation. That is why, for example, if an ordinary satellite dish is installed at home, in a thunderstorm and rain, communication with the satellite may be worse.
It is important to note here that the range in which Skif operates is one of the invaluable sectors of the frequency spectrum in which the combination of signal attenuation from interference and data transmission speed is optimal. That is why everyone wants to secure the rights to this particular frequency resource.
— It turns out that the connection will be stable even in bad weather?— The range, of course, is important, but a lot depends on the subscriber device.
It is necessary to ensure the appropriate sensitivity of the receiving path, apply flexible software algorithms to isolate the required signal from the radio stream, including, for example, the ability to work with reflected signals. Therefore, there is also an objective dependence here: the higher the performance level of the subscriber terminal and, accordingly, its cost, the higher the reliability indicators of the communication channel. And it is necessary to look for the optimal compromise between the complexity and the price of the terminal in relation to its functionality and reliability. If this balance is observed, yes, of course, it will work well in difficult weather conditions.
— And who will manufacture subscriber devices?— The Sphere Company.
This is precisely the task of the "Sphere" and the operator business in general — to provide customers with subscriber equipment at an optimal and reasonable price. For the first time in the history of Roscosmos, the task has been set to simultaneously work on the orbital grouping and subscriber equipment. This is a relatively new approach that should bear fruit. With regard to the production site, I think it makes no sense to build a new radio-electronic plant, since there are already a number of specialized enterprises. I do not yet know with whom the production contract will be signed, but I believe that it will be placed at the existing facilities of Roscosmos.
— Now there is an understanding of how much such a satellite connection will cost?— Yes, there is such an understanding.
All groupings that are created by Roscosmos within the framework of the Sphere project are designed for a given cost. That is, initially, the TK determines the cost of the spacecraft on Earth and its cost, taking into account the launch into orbit, the cost of ground infrastructure. This allows you to have a clear and objective picture in the overall financial model of the project and use both state and extra-budgetary investments. As for the requirements for the final service and subscriber equipment, our position is simple: the final services that will be provided by the satellite communication system should be comparable in cost to the services provided in cellular networks.
— That is, it will also be a monthly subscription fee?— Yes, monthly and annual — depending on the tariff.
The cost and volume of subscriptions will be regulated by tariff plans. As for the prices of equipment, in the Marathon system we strive to ensure that the cost of the subscriber terminal is minimal — units of thousands of rubles. This will allow each person to purchase, for example, a satellite tracker for personal use. At the same time, we do not plan to manufacture any unique terminals. On the contrary, our goal is to make these devices available to any manufacturer of radio electronics by providing them with open documentation formats. We plan to organize sales in such a way that there will be no need to contact a highly specialized store, but it will be possible to purchase Marathon terminals in ordinary retail chains.
With regard to the Skif system, its main target focus is the provision of collective access services. Due to the channels of the system, a backbone node of the network, or a hub, will be formed, which will ensure the operation of local public networks. Such a hub can be integrated with cellular networks of the fifth or existing generations. It is assumed that services will be in demand where there is no access to public networks, for example, shift settlements, large infrastructure facilities. And if you take the service in a complex, it will include integration with mobile operators, so that it has a field for working in cellular networks using conventional smartphones.
— Is it possible in the future to integrate equipment with a mobile phone in order to simply insert a chip into the phone and receive satellite communication?— To do this, we need to create a system that will allow transmitting information from and to space from a cell phone and to a cell phone.
That is, using the same frequency ranges in which cellular networks operate, it is required to transmit data from the phone to near-Earth orbit and simultaneously receive this information in space with highly sensitive antennas. There are such projects, and they are gradually being implemented. In particular, Elon Musk is testing such a service on the new Starlink grouping, but so far these are only small messages. This is one of the promising technological vectors, but it is quite difficult to implement.
— Who will be targeted by the services of the Express-RV group? — The Express-RV system is designed for broadband Internet access, with a special focus on mobile objects.
These are primarily vessels on the Northern Sea Route, rail and air transport. At the same time, if necessary, nothing prevents the terminal from being deployed on a stationary object.
— And it will be impossible to use the Skif on mobile objects? — We are already starting to work out an antenna that can be installed on mobile objects — cars, railway cars, buses, airplanes.
Then, with the help of Skif, we will be able to provide high-speed communication channels on mobile objects as well.
— Are you planning to go abroad in the future? — Yes, of course.
It would be illogical to create global satellite groupings in the interests of one State, whereas they can be used all over the world. In this case, the apparent effectiveness is significantly reduced.
Many countries, including Russia, have established rules and restrictions on the provision of communication services. An operator who intends to provide services on the territory of the Russian Federation must have a registered in In Russia, a legal entity, the necessary infrastructure and meet certain requirements for connecting to public networks and bringing traffic to end consumers. For satellite operators, the opening of their representative offices in different countries of the world is a long—established practice. Therefore, I think that our international development strategy will be based on the formation of new partnerships in other countries, which will help ensure the globalization of operator activity.
