Connectivity Technology Blog

One of the challenges with HAPS or even tethered balloon is that when the balloon or HAPS turns, the cells change position and this can result in handovers even for users that are stationary. This unnecessary signalling can be reduced, as Softbank explained, with an innovative antenna designed to reduce these. Softbank shared this news last year while its subsidiary HAPS Mobile shared a video here . Quoting from the article: People are able to use their mobile phones when they’re on the move, such as when they’re riding in cars and trains, for example. They can do this thanks to what’s called the “handovers.” In the handover process, when a mobile phone moves further away from a base station and the signal becomes weak, it automatically connects to another base station from which it can receive a stronger signal. With HAPS, the airborne base station moves continuously while the receiver stays stationary, and this causes handovers. A HAPS aircraft delivers network connectivity with rad...

SoftBank announced that it will start promoting the deployment of Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) solutions that provide connectivity from space and the stratosphere. For those who may not know, we made an introductory tutorial on NTN here .  The press release explained: SoftBank's NTN solutions will encompass the Geosynchronous Earth Orbiting (GEO) satellite NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) services provided by Skylo Technologies, Inc. (“Skylo”), which recently agreed to partner with SoftBank to provide satellite connectivity services in Japan. SoftBank's NTN solution portfolio will also include Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications to be provided by OneWeb Ltd. (“OneWeb”) and High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)-based stratospheric telecommunication platforms to be provided by SoftBank subsidiary HAPSMobile Inc. (“HAPSMobile”). The respective services of Skylo, OneWeb and HAPSMobile in SoftBank's NTN solutions lineup will offer unique advantages to meet the diverse needs ...

Original images on HAPSMobile Website . Earlier this month, Alphabet’s Loon LLC (“Loon”) and SoftBank Corp.’s HAPSMobile Inc. (“HAPSMobile”) announced they successfully developed a communications payload for HAPSMobile’s HAWK30, a solar-powered unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that flies in the stratosphere. The press release states: The initiative to design and develop the communications payload for the HAWK30 follows an announcement last April between Loon and HAPSMobile where the companies formed a strategic relationship. The partnership grew out of a joint recognition of the untapped potential of the stratosphere to enhance the connectivity ecosystem and bring more people, places, and things online. Since the April 2019 announcement, technical teams from Loon and HAPSMobile worked together to adapt the payload technology already used on Loon’s stratospheric balloons for the HAWK30. The effort leveraged Loon’s expertise in building communications payloads that are capable o...

Back in April SoftBank announced the launch of a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business through HAPSMobile, a joint venture between SoftBank and US-based company AeroVironment, Inc. With the aim of constructing a HAPS system that delivers telecommunications network connectivity from the sky for a global business, HAPSMobile developed “HAWK30,” an unmanned aircraft for stratospheric telecommunications platform system that flies at altitudes of approximately 20 kilometers. HAPS refers to systems where unmanned objects such as aircraft flying in the stratosphere can be operated like telecommunication base stations to deliver connectivity across wide areas. By utilizing HAPS, SoftBank will be able to build stable Internet connection environments at locations unserved by telecommunication networks, such as mountainous terrain, remote islands and developing countries. Furthermore, by efficiently interconnecting with current telecommunication networks, SoftBank will be able to ...