Google’s Set to Invest Billions in Satellite Connectivity, but What’s Its Real End Game?
The paper reported that the venture is being headed up by Greg Wyler, the erstwhile founder of satellite communications outfit O3b Networks, in which Google is also a shareholder. According to its sources, both Wyler and O3b’s former chief technology officer have joined Google, as have employees of another satellite company called Space Systems/Loral.
It looks as if Google’s efforts will run through a company that’s registered on the island of Jersey off the U.K. The company is called L5 or WorldVu Satellites and has, according to Space News, apparently picked up some Ku-band radio spectrum that was previously assigned to a failed venture called SkyBridge. This spectrum can be used to provide global satellite broadband backhaul (as long as the satellites don’t interfere with other local holders of the same spectrum in various countries), and WorldVu’s regulatory filings promise services commencing in late 2019.