In the modern day, it is very difficult to perceive a world without the internet. In short, we can literally say the world runs on it. From banking to shopping to booking a cab, we need the internet. However, according to the United Nations, around 20 percent of the world’s population still does not have access to 4G network coverage or better. While internet access is pretty good in the western world, in Africa, more than 73 percent of the population does not have access . So how do we solve this problem? The possible answer could be satellite broadband.
Over the years, we have seen satellite broadband projects SpaceX come into existence to extend the global internet coverage and make the internet accessible for everybody across the globe. Since the inception of Starlink, we have seen many other companies exploring the same. According to a report by investment banking giant Morgan Stanley, satellite broadband has the potential to heavily slash the cost of data as demand from new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-related tech explodes. Morgan Stanley predicts that the per-megabyte cost of wireless data will soon be less than 1 percent of the current price, which is very fascinating.
The true potential for satellite internet lies in serving those regions where telco’s or internet service providers (ISP) has not been able to reach or the services are poor. Morgan Stanley further revealed that the race to develop satellite constellations that deliver low-cost, high-speed internet is heating up in the global space economy. It has been predicted that the global space economy will be worth $1 trillion by 2040. Satellite internet will account for between 50 to 70 percent of the growth.
While Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Starlink is currently leading the market, we are witnessing new entrants in the market. Some of the other big players are Amazon’s project Kuiper, OneWeb, Hughes Net, TeleSat and Eutelsat. Starlink is the pioneer in this field and has around 1600 satellites in orbit. The company is planning to launch up to 42,000 new satellites by mid-2027. This is possible because of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites which operates closer to Earth, often at an altitude between 160 to 2,000 kilometres compared to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites that are at a distance of around 35000 kilometres from Earth.
Even though the concept of satellite-based internet service is not new, the low orbit satellite technology being developed by the likes of Starlink are proving to be transformative. Through these satellites, internet could be provided to the remotest of regions for offering services such as telemedicine or even to schools in rural areas where there is no internet access. It is very fascinating that with improvements to existing technology such as DSL, cable, fibre or even 5G, coupled with satellite broadband could potentially bridge the digital divide across the globe.
Satellite broadband is definitely the next big thing
A few decades back, if we talked about the space race, it meant reaching the moon. Many perceived the next space race will be to reach Mars, but, as it turned out, tech companies are now competing to connect hundreds or thousands of satellites to bring high-speed internet services which are also affordable to businesses, governments, schools, and individuals around the world, irrespective of their geographical presence.
Besides providing affordable internet services, these companies are also looking to solve problems faced by various industries. Satellite broadband will be able to provide better connectivity for the transportation industry. It can offer better navigation services as well as emergency services when it comes to the shipping industry as well as the aviation industry. Satellite broadband can act as communication backbones for IoT devices for processes such as fleet management and remote maintenance, infrastructure or mobile backhaul for other communications companies.
Currently, hundreds of satellites are already in orbit and more are scheduled to be launched in the coming years. Starlink is the leader with the largest satellite constellation with over 1600 satellites launched as of mid-2021. It is to note that even though the services could be available in almost every corner of the globe, Starlink can offer its services in jurisdictions it has obtained a licence in. As of September 2021, Starlink’s services are available in 16 countries only.
Project Kuiper or Kuiper Systems, as it is currently known, is a subsidiary of e-ecommerce giant Amazon. It received approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deploy a large broadband satellite internet constellation to provide internet services. Kuiper Systems aims to deploy 3,236 satellites to be fully serviceable and aims to achieve its target by 2029. Last year, in July, Amazon revealed that it would invest more than $10 billion in Project Kuiper. In December 2020, the company unveiled a high-level overview of the low-cost flat-panel antenna that it plans to use for the Project Kuiper satellite constellation.
UK’s OneWeb is ramping up its launch pace and is planning an initial 648-satellite constellation. Founded in 2012 by Greg Wyler, the company launched its first satellite in February 2019. The company, however, went bankrupt in March 2020 but emerged from the bankruptcy proceedings and reorganisation in November 2020. The company currently has new ownership which consists of the Government of the UK and Indian multinational company Bharti Global. In May 2021, OneWeb revealed that it would have enough satellites in the sky to provide its services in the UK, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic Seas, and Canada.
Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company headed by Dan Goldberg. In 2016, the company announced its plan to launch a 120 satellite low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation of 120 satellites about 1,000 km in altitude. Last year, it announced that the number of satellites would significantly increase to over 1600. Telesat currently has around 15 GEO satellites positioned 35,000 kilometres above Earth.
Eutesalat, which is the world’s third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues, already provides internet services in Europe, Africa and some parts of the Middle East. Konnect is Eutesalat’s satellite broadband initiative and the company wants to leverage its 40 years of experience in the field to provide affordable and reliable internet services.
The pandemic has fast-tracked satellite broadband developments
In 2020, there were around 4.66 billion active internet users across the globe, which accounts for 65.6 percent of the entire world’s population. This means more than 30 percent of the population still do not have access to the internet. Also, there are plenty of people with limited access to the internet or those who can’t afford it. The Covid-19 pandemic has given technological development a significant push. More and more people are going online to satisfy their needs online, be it carry out financial activities, banking or even order groceries.
The pandemic has also brought new urgency to the idea of internet access for all, and this could finally be possible with satellite broadband. Over the years, the internet will become a necessity and an important aspect of the standard of living. More and more emphasis is being given to the idea of ‘internet for all’ and satellite broadband companies are leading the charge. The pandemic has resulted in an increasing demand for better, more widely available and affordable internet connectivity, fast progress seems more inevitable than ever.
Satellite broadband vs Fibre
While fibre broadband is the most used form of the internet currently along with mobile internet, it may not be the case in the future. When Starlink’s new satellites went online for the first time, the beta testers’ download speeds were good enough to rival those of fibre broadband service providers. Once these satellite companies manage to fully develop their satellite constellations, they will be able to offer better speed to their users. More satellites mean more bandwidth which means faster speeds. There are other advantages that satellite broadband has to offer that make it a far more interesting and better prospect compared to fibre optics.
The very first problem satellite broadband solves is that of geography or terrain. It is not possible for fibre broadband to be available in almost all parts of the world, especially in geographically challenged locations or places with rough weather. However, satellite broadband can access almost every part of the world as it is best suited for areas such as rough terrains and places where it is difficult for fibre broadband to reach. We can say that fibre broadbands are best suited for urban areas with good infrastructures.
Satellite broadband also offers mobility, which means a person using satellite broadband can stay connected on the go, irrespective of which part of the world he is, and will not need to look for wifi signals or even good mobile signals. It would be able to access high-speed internet in a desert where there are no wifi routers or mobile towers nearby. This will not be possible when it comes to fibre broadband, its usage is limited within fixed locations.
Satellite broadband companies such as Starlink promises an average internet speed of up to 1Gbps, which is significantly higher than the top speeds offered by its competitors, however, the real kicker could lie in Starlink’s projected latency rate. Fibre broadband’s latency speed is around 17ms on average, which is slightly faster than that of cable internet (20-30ms). Satellite broadband companies are expected to have lower latency. Starlink’s latency speed is expected to be below 20 ms with the potential to reach under 10ms.
There are also some aspects such as bandwidth and data rates where fibre broadband has an edge. Fibre optic generally has higher bandwidth with minimal electromagnetic interference. Satellite broadband, on the other hand, has lesser bandwidth and is prone to interferences.
Another problem when it comes to satellite broadband is that it is very expensive. It involves huge investments of millions of dollars to launch satellites into space. Also, the cost of providing uninterrupted services and maintenance costs would also be very high. The challenge for companies like Starlink and Amazon is to turn this venture into a profitable business. Satellite broadband is not new; however, we are yet to see a successful business model in the past 20 years.
LEO Satellite vs GEO Satellite
It is forecasted that the satellite broadband market will reach 3.5 million subscribers by the end of this year and will reach 5.2 million subscribers in 2026, growing at a CAGR of 8 percent. A report from ABI Research revealed that the industry could make potentially around $4.1 billion in revenues. Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites have been in orbit for more than 50 years and are at a distance of around 35000 kilometres from Earth. These satellites are in the high-orbit and since they travel at the same angular velocity as the Earth, they remaining stationary. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites operate very closer to Earth at an altitude between 160 to 2,000 kilometres. Even though the concept of LEO satellites is not new, it’s only in the late 80s that scientists started to explore its potential.
GEO satellites were initially used to provide broadband services in areas where it was difficult to offer fibre broadband or mobile internet. Even though GEO satellites provided a decent internet speed of around 100Mbps, the fact that they are so far away from Earth was a big hurdle. This means latency speed was also higher and could go as high as 600ms. LEO satellites solve this problem and that is how such satellites came into the picture. Disrupting the GEO satellites, the LEO satellites offer the advantage of low latency which can be around 20 ms or even lower. Latency is important for activities such as online gaming or live streaming.
There are so some downsides to LEO satellites, the most important being many satellites will be needed to cover a specific geographical area. LEO satellites are smaller in size compared to GEOs, and they orbit the Earth many times per day. This means to serve a particular area, the company must make once a satellite passes by, it must be replaced by another and the cycle will continue. This adds to the network complexities. LEO satellites are however less expensive to manufacture compared to GEOs.
While the space internet race is heating up, we may have to wait a few more years to witness its full glory. The satellite broadband companies are ambitious but they are still in the building phase and even are still not fully equipped to offer services of the highest quality.