Is there anyone who knows more about radio stuff that can explain why they want to have both Ku and V band for users? It it just a matter of having more spectrum? Or are some bands more suited to crowded areas, like a city where there might be lots of customers sharing bandwidth? Do you need different hardware for using the different frequencies?
There are a few possible reasons for using multiple bands. With the higher frequency of the V band you can very high data rates down to the ground. However, higher frequency RF will be very attenuated by rainfall [0]. So the Ku band could be used as a backup to the V band.
The V band (or optical links) will also likely be used for the inter-satellite communication.
You do typically need different hardware for using the different frequencies. With some of the more advanced software defined radios, you could use both of the at the same baseband within the same radio. But you will still need some sort of frequency conversion [1]. You will likely need different antennas for each band as well. And to get an efficient system you also want to add filters for each band.
The higher data rates come from the fact that there is a lot more spectrum available in the v band. From what I remember there is about 4 to 5 gigahertz usable there. Ka-band has about 2-3GHz, and Ku about 1. as you mentioned, attenuation is one of the factors why you wouldn't use v band. Another reason is that it uses quite a bit more power, and the RF electronics are much more expensive and rare.
