Ivo Ivanov, Chief Executive Officer, DE-CIX International
According to the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) 2021 report, “Measuring Digital Development”, the share of internet users is twice as high in urban areas as that in rural areas worldwide. Not only the share, but the speed too varies, with rural households still experiencing single-digit Mbit download speeds in many areas.
Businesses find it difficult to cope with poor internet coverage. Real-time data processing simply cannot succeed under these circumstances. In our fast moving networked world, rural companies are clearly lagging behind their urban competitors when it comes to fibre optic connections.
While the response to Covid-19 led to an uptick in fibre roll-out, with subscriptions surpassing copper-wire DSL (digital subscriber line) in OECD countries for the first time in 2021, there is still a lot of work to be done. However, in view of the enormous costs involved, the gapless roll-out of a fibre optic infrastructure will be a project for the future – one that will take a great deal of time. The search for medium-term alternatives is, therefore, entirely appropriate. One possible alternative is the use of LEO (low earth orbit) satellites. Therefore, internet from space holds the potential to provide connectivity to underserved regions.
Advantages of satellite internet
The idea of satellite internet is not a new one. Since the early 2000s, providers such as EUTELSAT, SES Astra, Telesat, HughesNet and ViaSat have been putting satellites into orbit to provide internet access. These are largely geostationary satellites, located at an altitude of about 36,000 km. However, this form of internet supply has significant disadvantages that can be eliminated with LEO satellites. For one thing, the cost of constructing and installing LEO satellites is much lower than the outlay for either geostationary satellites or fibre roll-out. Meanwhile, significantly higher internet speeds and lower latencies can be achieved due to the satellites’ proximity to the earth and consequently, shorter data transmission distances. The operation of satellite internet is simple and works, in principle, like the connection between a cell phone and a cell phone tower. The satellites use the receiver-transmitter technology that allows them to establish a link between two points in their line of sight. This allows them to communicate bidirectionally with ground stations on earth that are connected to the internet. A recent innovation is optical communication – laser connectivity between satellites – incorporated into the latest-generation satellites launched by Starlink in September 2021. In the long run, this technology has the potential to increase transmission speeds dramatically – faster than fibre in the vacuum of space.
Satellite internet becoming acceptable
Satellite network operators alone do not automatically become satellite internet providers once they place satellites in orbit. Establishing a functioning satellite with internet coverage entails numerous challenges for providers. LEO satellites orbit the globe in their low earth orbit at a speed of approximately 27,000 km per hour. Accordingly, both a high number of satellites communicating with each other and regular, continuous handovers to ground stations are necessary to ensure uninterrupted connectivity. Since communication between satellites and ground stations only works once there is visual contact, data transmission is partly dependent on weather conditions. Providers must consider these potential limitations when deploying a constellation of LEO satellites for internet connectivity. Moreover, the infrastructure consists not only of satellites and ground stations. The latter must be interconnected with other networks via high performance interconnection on the ground. This interconnection of different networks usually takes place at an internet exchange, from whose interconnection ecosystem internet service providers benefit. For this purpose, the provider’s ground station must be connected via fibre optic cable with a data centre which, in turn, is connected – also via fibre – to the nearest internet exchange. The IX will then enable satellite internet providers to connect to relevant networks and provide their users with high internet speeds and low latency. Fibre therefore continues to play a fundamental role, even providing support for its potential alternatives.
The bottom line: Short-term alternative or long-term solution?
Satellites will not be able to completely replace fibre optic networks in the near future, but satellite operators are probably not even aiming for this. On the contrary, it is becoming apparent that the greatest added value is created when both technologies exist side by side in a meaningful symbiosis and can benefit mutually from each other. It will be a long time before network coverage guarantees fibre optic internet for everyone. Until then, satellites can remedy the situation and reduce costs. The situation is similar on the corporate side – for the coming years, satellite internet can transitionally be a tremendous asset for businesses in rural areas, allowing them to implement long-overdue technological innovations. In the long term, however, there will be no way around the fibre optic network here either. s
