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, hig

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. [0] http://happy.emu.id.au/lab/rep/rep/9510/txtspace/9510_032.htm http://happy.emu.id.au/lab/rep/rep/9510/txtspace/9510_032.ht... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-noise_block_downconverter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-noise_block_downconverter