With the advent of internet, everyone and everything can connect with each other, not only on the earth but in the space also. Today, in urban areas, we are connected to internet either through optic fibers, cellular network, cables or DSL. However, in remote places, or regions where such media has not reached, can we still be able to access internet? Yes, thanks to the satellite internet.
Satellite Internet is relayed wirelessly to its subscribers via the GEO (Geostationary Earth Satellites) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. GEO satellites are always fixed relative to a position on the earth and can cater to a large geographic area. They match the earth’s rotation and are located at 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above the Earth’s equator. LEO satellites lie in the Low Earth Orbit and operate at an altitude of around 1000 km above the Earth’s surface. However, multiple LEOs function in conjunction to provide internet coverage. A net or constellation of LEO satellites is required to provide constant internet coverage to end-users on the Earth.
Since every coin has two faces, there are both pros and cons of the satellite-based internet. If we see the positive side, satellite internet is advantageous as it does not require optic fiber, cable or phone lines and can be accessed by a user in remote and rural areas, where even laying down cables is not feasible or economical. Satellite Internet is resilient since it has less equipment on the ground in comparison to terrestrial internet service providers. The infrastructure is less likely to be damaged during extreme weather conditions and diggings. Rural residents are now able to check their emails, work from home, stay connected with their family and friends, have access to distance learning and online healthcare due to satellite-based internet. Satellite internet also serves maritime and aviation industries. While the airplanes are far in the sky and ships are far in the water, they are always close to the ground-based stations with satellite internet connectivity.
Having a look on the opposite side, currently, the satellite internet is majorly provided by GEOs that has poor latency. Therefore, it is not much suitable for real-time critical applications, gaming, Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and VOIP. Optic fiber and cable-based internet has low latency, i.e., there is no lag noticeable to the end-user, and the internet is fast enough for real-time applications. On the other hand, in satellite internet architecture, the signals have to travel wirelessly from a dish installed at an end-user’s location to a satellite orbiting around the earth and from the satellite to a Network Operations Center (NOC) and vice versa. This long distance transmission and reception of the signal via distant satellite causes latency, which makes the satellite internet unsuitable for real-time applications. The satellite internet provides low bandwidth to end users as the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have to use bandwidth capping and throttling for serving many individual users. In addition, environment, rain, snow and physical obstructions can also cause signal fading.
However, LEO satellite constellation may prove to be successful in solving issues of latency and provide substantially similar service as of the wired/optic fiber internet connections. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are 35 times closer to the Earth than the traditional geostationary orbit (GEO). Due to the closeness and shorter data paths, LEO-based networks are claimed to have latency similar to terrestrial networks. LEO satellite constellations will provide fast connectivity suitable for various applications such as Internet browsing, messenger or online chats, Voice over IP (VoIP) and gaming. Many new companies are competing (in a kind of space war) to enter in this domain on a large scale and provide high quality broadband services via LEO satellite constellations.