First of all, I’m not a satellite engineer, but have 20+ years of experience
with successfully assisting installations of NOAAport system with several
different entities, public and private, dealing with 5G interference and tons
of other issues. So I’ll say I am a NOAAport technician, and I’ll also say that
Stonie blows my knowledge out of the water on this topic on top of that.
Having said that, what he wrote is all exactly right, including what is
happening now, and a reasonable expectation for the future. As an aside, this
not only affects the meteorological community, but several others:
Comcast/Xfinity’s “Head end in the sky” (HITS) will have to go dark, broadcast
TV channels and pay TV networks broadcasting via satellite will go dark on
those satellites (almost all or all of those satellite dishes you see in TV
stations’ backyards will become razor blades), and when you go to a major
college or professional sports game and see the satellite trucks parked outside
the stadium? Take pictures for historical purposes, they will go dark too, this
is the last season they will likely be able to use them. Oh, and your major
market TV station with a satellite truck with a huge parabolic dish on top?
Buh-bye. They’re gone, too.
One could consider Starlink or a competitor, but until they launch the new “5G”
satellites….which won’t happen until next year, and that will take a while to
test, etc….forget that.
The future is fiber for data transmission, period. Now the question
becomes….how? The NWS desperately needs to exactly answer that question for us,
and fast. BTW, again, the FCC is forcing this; the NWS CANNOT extend NOAAport
much beyond August 31 because the frequency they use is being sold off to 5G/6G
wireless companies.
Great job, Stonie!
Gilbert Sebenste
Meteorology Support Analyst
[cid:image001.png@01DD3AF3.F1427030]
From: noaaport <noaaport-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Stonie Cooper
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 3:10 PM
To: LDM <ldm-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; NOAAPORT <noaaport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [External] [noaaport] SBN EOL and summary of questions I have gotten
personally.
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of COD’s system. Do not click
links, open attachments, or respond with sensitive information unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
The attached document provides technical information and best-guess future
adaptations, and are not a representation of NSF, Unidata, UCP, or UCAR. I am
keeping the following focused only on technical aspects, so it should be
relatively non-confrontational, but one never knows.
Since some of you may want to respond to the solicitation for comments posted
earlier regarding the EOL of the SBN (NOAAPort, specifically), the attached PDF
summarizes the questions I have received in my personal and work inboxes and
includes a summation of my responses. This is intended to provide everyone with
a level playing field regarding information.
-
Stonie Cooper, PhD
Software Engineer III
NSF Unidata
cooper@xxxxxxxx<mailto:cooper@xxxxxxxx>
