K2 Space: Frequency Band Analysis

Physics-first. Assumes <$20M per satellite, large antenna platform (40m wingspan).

L 1-2 GHz Low SpaceX via T-Mobile
S 2-4 GHz   SpaceX via EchoStar
C 4-8 GHz    
X 8-12 GHz   Starshield
Ku 12-18 GHz   Starlink
Ka 26-40 GHz High Starlink

Signal Strength

How well the signal reaches the ground. Lower frequencies travel further and punch through buildings and foliage. Higher frequencies allow tighter, more focused beams from smaller antennas but degrade more in bad weather.

$$\text{Signal received} = \frac{\text{Power} \times \text{Sat antenna gain} \times \text{User antenna gain}}{(\text{Distance})^2 \times (\text{Frequency})^2}$$

Data Speeds

The size of the spectrum determines how much data you can push through. More MHz means more throughput potential. This is the main catch: a strong signal in a narrow band still caps out fast.

Signal Efficiency

The economics of geometry. Farther orbits need fewer satellites for global coverage but face different tradeoffs on latency, terminal cost, and atmospheric exposure. Customer requirements (latency, availability, ground gear cost) determine which orbit wins for a given band.

L1-2 GHzLowSpaceX via T-Mobile
S2-4 GHz SpaceX via EchoStar
C4-8 GHz
X8-12 GHz Starshield
Ku12-18 GHz Starlink
Ka26-40 GHzHighStarlink
Best Orbit
GEO (assuming large antenna) or LEO for D2D
GEO (assuming large antenna) or LEO for D2D
GEO
GEO
LEO or GEO
MEO or LEO
Use Cases
Asset tracking, maritime safety, remote voice, GPS augmentation, cell spectrum
Asset tracking, mobile satellite phone, some remote voice
Legacy enterprise broadband, TV broadcast distribution, telecom backhaul
Military and government comms only
Consumer broadband (Starlink), in-flight wifi, maritime broadband
High-throughput enterprise connectivity, premium maritime, government secure comms, in-flight wifi
Spectrum
About 200 MHz. Narrow. In GEO, good for things that need to always be on but don't need speed (e.g. safety beacons), and in LEO, good for D2D (device to device)
About 200 MHz. Same story as L
About 500 MHz.
About 500 MHz. Government only, not commercially available
About 500 MHz. Starlink's main band
About 3,500 MHz. Way more than everything else
MEO Relevant?
No. Spectrum is too thin to justify the complexity. GEO wins on simplicity, and LEO wins on link budget
No. Same as L
No. GEO works fine and spectrum is limited anyway
No. Use cases don't really need the latency improvement
No. LEO already won here. MEO isn't very viable, worse than both GEO and LEO for respective use cases
Yes. The only band with enough spectrum (data bandwidth) that MEO complexity pays off. LEO is also compelling here and SpaceX is going hard. MEO's edge is anti-jam geometry (harder to target from the ground than LEO) and SLA reliability for customers who can't have outages
20kW / 100kW Useful?
A little. More power is helpful, but you need a step-function more to move the needle. Spectrum is still the ceiling
A little. Same as L
Not really. Not fighting the atmosphere, so extra power mostly just adds users with weaker receivers, but not capability
Yes, one reason. Higher power is harder to jam. For government comms under attack, power buys survivability
Yes. More power is always helpful, but K2's power isn't incremental enough to compete with SpaceX
Most useful. More power fights the atmosphere directly. Also lets you serve more users and use cheaper ground equipment. 100kW would matter a lot in GEO or MEO. In LEO the satellite weight budget makes that level basically impossible today