Anuvu constellation visualization of MicroGEO satellites with Telesat Lightspeed. Photo: Anuvu

Telesat has won a deal to provide antennas and ground station infrastructure to Anuvu, the two companies announced, Feb. 7. The facilities will support Tracking, Telemetry and Control (TT&C) of Anuvu’s first two MicroGEO satellites built by Astranis Space Technologies. Anuvu and Astranis remain on track to launch the first two satellites for the constellation in mid-2023, with entry into commercial service by year-end.

Anuvu plans to launch a constellation of eight small satellites in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) in a partnership with Astranis announced in 2021.

The new Telesat-managed antennas and ground-station infrastructure will enable Anuvu’s satellite operations from Telesat’s flagship Allan Park, Ontario teleport, with redundant operations at its Calgary, Alberta teleport. Telesat will equip each site with new 9-meter Ku-band and 9.2-meter Ka-band antennas as a gateway for in-flight connectivity and maritime services, connecting to Anuvu’s co-located dedicated space hub infrastructure in a managed carrier-class environment, with redundant fiber connectivity to internet points of presence.

Additionally, Anuvu’s new tracking antennas in Allan Park will be adjacent to the Telesat Lightspeed Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) landing station, providing additional synergies as Anuvu implements its multi-orbit, multi-frequency service strategy.

“The newly-built, state-of-the-art antennas at diverse locations within Canada allow us to maximize the capacity available to our U.S. and Caribbean customers, reducing latency with shorter paths to the Internet and offering increased network resiliency. Our new software-defined radio architecture provides unmatched flexibility in allocating satellite capacity and power to meet the rapidly evolving demands of our mobility customers,” Tim Southard, Anuvu VP of Networks, said in a statement.