Frequently asked questions

Q. What is Laser Light^™ Communications?
A. We believe Laser Light^™ Communications will be the first Optical Satellite Service provider of telecommunications solutions serving the high bandwidth data and next-generation service needs of carriers, enterprises and government agencies around the world.

Q. How does Laser Light^™ differ from other satellite-based broadband providers?
A. Laser Light^™ will differ from other satellite-based broadband providers simply by its system capacity [4.8 Tbps] and scalable up/down links [200 Gbps]. Laser Light^™ is planning to deploy eight optical-wave satellites & 4 spares to form a fully meshed constellation of Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. Existing satellite-broadband providers rely on scarce, highly regulated & expensive microwave frequencies for data transmission.

Q. What is Laser Light's^™ key differentiator?
A. Laser Light's^™ planned key differentiator is its all optical-wave transmission interface platform, Lightway^™ access nodes enabling compatible handoffs to terrestrial optical fiber carriers. This compatibility is economically beneficial as the same equipment used in today's fiber optic industry forms the Laser Light^™ platform and interconnection can take place at global collocation points.

Q. Doesn't weather affect laser communications? What is Laser Light's^™ solution to "rain fade"?
A. Severe weather conditions will be bypassed by Laser Light's^™ meshed inter-satellite rerouting capabilities. Laser Light^™ considers this approach a significant refinement, enabling it to dynamically identify and deliver traffic to Lightway^™ ground access nodes with interconnected fiber access.

Q. Who would be Laser Light's^™ customers? Is the US Government a customer of Laser Light^™?
A. Laser Light's^™ prospective customer base will be derived from three established market segments—telecommunication service providers, commercial enterprises, and governments. Telecom services providers ranging from terrestrial fiber, wireless, and satellite operators are ideal partners and can extend the scope of existing offering by partnering with Laser Light^™. Commercial enterprises requiring direct access point to facilitate larger data transfers or backup links for mission critical data will benefit from Laser Light's^™ solution. Finally, Governments and specific government agencies operating as effective telecommunications carriers require high-speed data communication over wide spread and often hard to reach geographic locations are ideal customers for Laser Light^™.

Q. What products and services would Laser Light^™ sell? In what form?
A. Laser Light's^™ planned products and service offering will include: - Wavelength Products: high performance latency sensitive DWDM transport enabling customers to expand reach – 
 across networks and borders – to provide cost effective high-quality service Global Connectivity Services: Integrated Optical Satellite and Terrestrial services that will hand-off optical connectivity, in both space and earth, at optical 
 circuit speed options - Data Delivery Services: Optimal routing and network diversity able to by-pass peering points where congestion 
 habitually occurs, Laser Light^™ will pick up and hand-off traffic at network exchange points, submarine cable landing 
 stations, and global data centers, enabling carrier interconnection simplicity and efficiency - Restoration Services: With global route diversity, from both space and earth, Laser Light^™ can provide network resiliency providing high quality restorative services to our customers

Q. Does Laser Light^™ uses any radio frequency spectrum?
A. Laser Light^™ plans to utilize NO microwave frequencies in the direct transmission of data over its network. Laser Light^™ may rely on radio frequencies provided by its Telemetry, Tracking & Control provider for initial satellite deployment and check-in. After satellite initial maneuvering and acceptance, Laser Light^™ intends on relying solely on optical-wave for its daily TT&C.

Q. When would Laser Light^™ services be available?
A. Laser Light's^™ commercial service may be available as early as mid-2017.

Q. What are Laser Light's^™ execution milestones?
A. For the remainder of calendar year 2012, Laser Light^™ will complete the company formation and undergo a series of independent technical and program reviews. Over 2013-2014, Laser Light^™ will engage in source selection for the spacecraft, launcher, network interconnection, and distribution partners. In addition, the company will undergo a series of field tests. Satellite and ground equipment manufacturing, as well as the negotiation of ground facilities, will take place from 2013 through 2016. Finally, the satellite will be launched in early 2017, commencing in-orbit testing and commercial services.

Q. Where did Laser Light^™ obtain its technologies?
A. Laser Light^™ obtained its core laser technology from Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS), a U.S. based industry leader in sensor systems providing military forces the most accurate and timely actionable information available for the network-centric battlefield.

Q. Does the ITU or any National Regulatory Authorities need to approve Laser Light^™ constellation or delivery 
of its services?
A. Unlike radio systems, laser communications is an optical technology that does not require spectrum licensing or frequency coordination. Optical satellite systems are not susceptible to interference from one to another system or equipment since the point-to-point laser signal is extremely difficult to intercept. This means that it does not fall under the regulations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in terms of frequency allocation and spectrum regulations. National regulatory institutions, as far as we are aware, have not initiated regulatory measures for satellite optical communication in relation to interference. In either case, Laser Light^™ is open to any regulatory regime – existing or prospective – that ensures the future of space-based optical-wave telecommunications.

Q. What is an Optical Satellite System, or OSS? How is that different from a Fixed Satellite System [FSS], or Mobile [MSS], or Direct Broadcast System [DBS]?
A. One defining factor is that OSS does not require RF spectrum, thus no need for governmental frequency assignment or risk to interference with traditional satellite operators.

Q. Who is Laser Light's^™ management team?
A. At its current state of development, Laser Light^™ is led by an experienced satellite and telecommunications executives: - Robert H. Brumley, the former President & CEO of TerreStar Communications, Inc., serves as Senior Managing Director 
 of Laser Light^™, - Michael J. Reedy, the former Chief Operating Officer of TerreStar Communications, Inc., serves as Managing Director 
 of Light Laser^™, and - Clifford Beek, the former Senior VP of TerreStar Communications, Inc., responsible for TerreStar's planned expansion 
 into the Asia-Pacific region, serves as Managing Director of Laser Light^™.

Q. Why do you think Laser Light^™ could be a "game-changer" for satellite communications?
A. First, Laser Light^™ can achieve optical bandwidth rates of data transmission at lower power consumption levels than traditional RF signals. Second, Laser Light^™ offers unique routing capabilities to combine intra-space meshed overlay assets with terrestrial earth network infrastructure, reducing time and cost of content transmission. And third, minimum risks of interference with other systems, especially at high data rates.

Q. Where is Laser Light^™ registered? Where is Laser Light's^™ principle place of business?
A. Laser Light^™ Communications, LLC, 11921 Freedom Drive, Two Fountain Square, Suite 550, Reston, Virginia 20190 USA.

Q. How does someone get in touch with Laser Light^™?
A. info@laserlightcomms.com or 703-904-4366.

Q. How does Laser Light™ transport data between access nodes?
A. Laser Light's Optical Satellite System will transport free-space optical (laser) communications data between space-based & terrestrial nodes using Raytheon's patent-pending StarBeam™ technology.

Q. What happens to Laser Light's™ services when terrestrial transport technology evolves?
A. Laser Light's OSS will not convert optical signals to electrical signals at any layer of its network, consequently there should be minimal, if any, disruption due to evolution of transport technologies and protocols

Q. Laser Light's™ OSS is a MEO constellation. How does Laser Light™ deal with MEO's known radiation impacts?
A. Laser Light's™ prime vendor, Raytheon, has substantial experience in radiation hardening of satellite payloads for the US Department of Defense. We are extremely satisfied that Raytheon's payload technology and design will accommodate the MEO radiation environment.

Q. How is Raytheon's StarBeam™ technology and payload design for Laser Light's™ OSS different from all the other companies' previously unsuccessful attempts to achieve space-based laser satellite communications at a cost effective and adequate service level?
A. Raytheon has been a leader in space-based satellite communications systems for the US DOD for decades. Laser Light™ is satisfied that Raytheon's cutting-edge, patent pending, StarBeam™ technology and payload design will take advantage of its extensive experience and industry contribution to advances in laser capacity, light amplification and satellite payload size, weight and power (SWaP) designs.

Q. Other firms have attempted laser-based communications for terrestrial networks and failed. A significant obstacle to their success was QoS failures due to weather. Has Laser Light™ overcome the obstacle of "rain fade"?
A. The physics of transmitting optical wave signals have not changed. However, Raytheon's advances in refinements of the optical wave signal, enabling it to adjust to some levels of moisture in the atmosphere, as well as diverse path-routing via a Meshed Optical Network™ between the OSS and Ground Fiber networks enables Laser Light™ to offer QoS and SLA's similar to those of terrestrial fiber industry.

For example: Agile Traffic Routing & Rerouting at the Speed of Light. Each Lightway™ customer access node is really two physically separate, paired nodes, connected to each other by terrestrial optical fiber and located so as to maximize availability notwithstanding local weather. Laser Light™ satellites will transport data destined for a Lightway™ node to both nodes simultaneously, so transmission to the customer will be enabled so long as of at least one of its pair is weather-available. In the few instances where both of the pair are weather impacted, the Meshed Optical Network™ will re-route the data through space for up- or down-link to an unaffected Lightway™ access node elsewhere, for transport back to the destination node via terrestrial fiber.

Q. What service will Laser Light™ provide?
A. Laser Light™ will provide reliable high-bandwidth data transport to and between customer access nodes located between 51.9 degrees north or south latitude, throughout the world via its OSS and Ground Terrestrial Fiber segment.

Q. What connectivity and throughput does Laser Light™ provide?
A. Laser Light™ will transport data at 200 Gbps or more per Lightway™ access node. Each Lightway™ access node will connect to 1-2 other access nodes simultaneously. Laser Light™ will rapidly re-route each Lightway™ access node. The service level when deployed will be unprecedented from a satellite platform, approaching 4.8 Tbps OSS capacities alone.

Q. What latency will I experience?
A. As with any communications system, latency depends on the distance traveled. Laser Light's™ latency is expected to be less than Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites and intercontinental terrestrial fiber.

Q. Laser Light™ delivers its services via Lightway™ access nodes. What are these?
A. Lightway™ access nodes are optical wave receivers located on the ground at selective locations – fixed or mobile, i.e. carrier hotels, undersea cable houses, enterprises, institutions. These are owned and operated by Laser Light™ and comprise its Terrestrial Ground segment.

Q. Where are these Lightway™ access nodes located?
A. Laser Light's access nodes will be distributed around the globe along terrestrial fiber networks, typically in equatorial regions (between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer) but as much as 51.9 degrees north or south latitude.

Q. How many customer access nodes does Laser Light™ contemplate?
A. A minimum of 36 are contemplated to validate Laser Light's™ Meshed Optical Network™ globally. However, the total number of Lightway™ access nodes would be customer-driven, meaning during Laser Light's™ pre-subscription phase of its business roll-out, Laser Light™ will offer these Lightway™ nodes, at its expense, to potential partners at their locations. Laser Light™ believes these locations will exceed 100.

Q. What do customer access nodes cost?
A. A Lightway™ access node is planned to be similar to co-location equipment in a carrier hotel. Consequently, the cost of installation and leased space services varies from location to location.

Q. How much will Laser Light™ service cost?
A. Laser Light's™ data transport services should be more cost-effective than current or pending satellite or terrestrial fiber services, as it does not require wireless spectrum, regeneration stations, multiple gateway facilities, extensive customer premises equipment, interfaces or delivery applications.

Q. Does Laser Light™ provide quality-of-service (QoS) management?
A. As Laser Light™ develops its product and service plans it intends offer QoS management services. However, since Laser Light™ will be primarily a wholesaler, a customer's current service provider will probably continue to provide these services.

Q. Do I need to run fiber to the Laser Light™ access nodes?
A. Laser Light™ intends on partnering with global terrestrial fiber network providers. Laser Light™ intends on forming partnerships with global distributors and carriers thus ensuring that if their customers are connected terrestrial fiber, they could be connected to Laser Light™.

Q. How do I access Laser Light's™ data transport services?
A. Laser Light™ intends to be a wholesale carriers' carrier. As such, most users would access Laser Light's™ services by using their existing physical layer protocols, modulation formats and current service provider. IF their service providers are customers of Laser Light™, then those customers will have complete access to its higher-bandwidth capabilities.

Q. Can I pick my destination access node?
A. Yes.

Q. How do I interface to a customer access node?
A. Laser Light™ interfaces will use industry-standard 10 Gbps protocols, including 10 GbEthernet, OC-192, STM-64, and OTU2.

Q. Are lasers in space safe?
A. Yes. Laser Light™ will use eye-safe lasers operating at such low power they couldn't melt a candy bar.

Q. Is there any danger from lasers to people in the vicinity of the ground stations, or to birds or aircraft flying 
through the beam?
A. No. People, animals and machines would not be by Laser Light's™ lasers.

Q. What happens to the Laser Light™ network if a satellite stops operating?
A. The Laser Light™ constellation will be designed to operate with one or more satellites. The Laser Light™ OSS is 
"self-healing," meaning if a satellite fails the other satellites in the constellation fill in the void.

Q. What happens if there is a launch failure?
A. Current planning is to deploy the Laser Light™ constellation of 8-12 satellites with 4 satellites on each launch vehicle. 
If one launch fails, we would have sufficient satellites [4-8] to form the OSS constellation.

Q. Will the Laser Light™ OSS interfere with the operation of other satellites?
A. No. Optical wave communications are deployed extremely narrow bands.

Q. How are optical communications regulated?
A. Laser Light™ will comply with ALL various national and international licensing requirements pertinent to optical wave operations and communications.

Q. Who is building the Laser Light™ satellite payloads?
A. Laser Light™ has exclusively licensed Raytheon's patent-pending StarBeam™ technology. Raytheon will design and 
build the payloads.

Q. What spacecraft will Laser Light™ use?
A. Several international spacecraft providers offer satellite platforms that can host Laser Light's™ optical payloads.

Q. Has anyone ever provided commercial space-based laser communications before?
A. While terrestrial optical communications has been demonstrated, we believe Laser Light™ will be the 1st private company to provide this very high data rate, optical wave bandwidth from space, certainly at this scale and scope. Consequently, we believe the term Optical Satellite System is a new one, and Laser Light's™ claim to be the 1st Commercial Optical Satellite System is defensible.

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