Kymeta u8 terminal. Photo: Kymeta

Kymeta’s u8 terminal has received FCC commercial authorization, the company announced Tuesday. This approval comes as Kymeta prepares to launch the product in the Fourth Quarter (Q4) of 2020. The company also recently acquired satellite service provider Lepton Global Solutions LLC to aid its go-to-market push, and completed an $85 million fundraising round led by longtime investor Bill Gates. 

The FCC gave approval for 10,000 units of the u8 antenna, an electronically steered, flat-panel Earth Station in Motion (ESIM) platform. It was built specifically for mobility and designed for the needs of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), government, first responder, and commercial customers. It covers the full Ku-band and Kymeta has plans to make it LEO upgradeable. In addition, Kymeta has received type approvals from several leading satellite service operators including Intelsat, Echostar, Hellasat, KTSat, and Telesat for use with Kymeta u8 terminal.

Kymeta will sell the u8 with its satellite-cellular connectivity service Kymeta Connect as a $999 monthly subscription combining hardware, hybrid connectivity, global support, and network services. Beta trials are currently underway. 

“Receiving the FCC authorization, puts us one step closer to releasing our next-generation solutions into the market and at scale,” said Walter Berger, Kymeta president, and COO. “We have the only hybrid technology that is part of a global land mobile ecosystem. The market needs a connectivity solution they can rely on and we are positioned well to be a driving force of what lies ahead for mobile communications.”