Starlink is a division of SpaceX constructing a constellation of satellites to provide satellite internet. This is revolutionary since it will provide low-cost, high-speed internet to people globally. While it is only in the beta stage now with 1500 satellites launched, it plans to have around 42,000 in space. It is meant for rural areas that don’t have access to the internet currently since it can reach it with its constellation, however, major cities will struggle to use it since there are too many people to share with and obstacles that get in the way of the signal. To use it, you need to set up a satellite dish on top of your home for $499 and pay $99 a month, which is quite expensive compared to other options. The upfront cost for the equipment should get cheaper as the program increases, but the plans won’t change for the sake of simplicity. Starlink is unique because, unlike other satellite internet solutions, its satellites are in Low Earth Orbit, allowing a faster signal with lower latency. But why is satellite internet only making waves recently if it’s been around for a while?
Satellite internet works with a satellite, a satellite dish in the place where the internet is required and a Network Operating Centre somewhere else. The NOC is connected to the internet and transmits and receives data to and from the satellite. The satellite then transmits and gets the internet data to the satellite dish. The first satellite launched with the intent of providing internet was Spaceway-1 by Hughes Network Systems in 2005. Many of these companies had huge backers and billions of dollars, like Teledesic having Boeing to back them and Motorola backing Iridium Communications, so how did they not make satellite internet the default for most people?
The reason is actually that satellite internet was both slow and expensive due to it being a new technology and therefore, the only people who bought satellite internet were people who had no other options. Also, due to advancements in regular internet technology, like fibre optic cables, the proposed satellite internet market was much smaller than thought. Eventually, most of the companies just gave up. Now though, due to companies moving to LEO satellites, it’s become much faster and cheaper to use. In fact, according to Blaine Curcio, founder of Orbital Gateway Consulting, “The cost to launch 1 gigabit per second is 100 times less than it was 15-20 years ago.” Satellite internet is also getting a larger market with the emergence of cloud gaming and speeds getting fast enough to compete reliably with traditional solutions. SpaceX isn’t actually the only one setting up LEO satellite constellations. They’ve got competition with the British, Chinese and other world governments and other companies like Telesat and Amazon’s project Kuiper. This all shows that satellite internet is about to make its grand and long-awaited return.
Comments
Post a Comment