In May of this year, a rocket launched by SpaceX, a company founded by Elon Musk, put a very large volume of payload into orbit. Among him were 60 satellites, which will form the basis of the global Internet network Starlink. In the coming years, SpaceX plans to launch nearly 12,000 satellites to provide broadband internet access services across the planet. But what will happen when this program is fully operational?
Why do you need a global satellite network
According to a recent UN report, at the end of 2018, 49.2% of the world's population still does not have broadband access to the World Wide Web. Moreover, if in Europe 80% of the population uses the Internet without any problems, then in African countries this figure is much more modest - only 22%.
This is due to the fact that laying a fiber-optic cable in poor regions of our planet is not economically profitable, and the coverage of these zones with a fast mobile Internet requires a critical mass of solvent customers, who, for the already mentioned reason, do not exist in these regions.
Who will provide the Earth with fast Internet
A number of companies are currently developing and deploying technologies that are likely to revolutionize the provision of broadband access. The only question is who will be the first.
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Apart from SpaceX, Amazon has announced plans to launch over 3,000 satellites. OneWeb, with support from SoftBank and Richard Branson, has also begun preparing and deploying a network of more than 600 satellites. The new satellites promise to be faster, smaller and more powerful than previous models, offering a latency of 25-35 milliseconds. And this is already comparable to some cable DSL systems.
Another approach is suggested by Google. The search giant is experimenting with balloons that act like flying cell towers. And Facebook, along with Airbus, is exploring the possibility of distributing the Internet using unmanned aerial vehicles.
Why SpaceX will be the first to deploy a satellite network
Elon Musk's company is already significantly ahead of competitors and by the end of 2020 plans to launch up to 800 satellites into orbit. Competitors are still far from these figures. OneWeb is aiming to roll out the network by 2021, and Amazon hasn't given any timeline at all. It’s hard to imagine that Jeff Bezos’s company would miss out on such a promising market.
How Starlink works
By and large, Elon Musk's company is only refining the existing technology. Today there are several providers around the world that provide Internet access via satellite communications. For this, a transceiver is used - a device for receiving and transmitting a satellite radio signal. Something like a modem, but for working with satellites. So why can't existing satellites be used? The fact is that they are located at an altitude of about 36 thousand kilometers. And because of this, radio waves have to travel a long distance, which leads to delays. This is joined by interference, and as a result, the connection speed is not particularly pleasing.
Starlink should fix this problem. The satellites will be located at an altitude of 335 to 1325 kilometers, which will greatly reduce delays. In addition, it is planned to place ground stations that will transmit information to satellites using radio waves. And the satellites themselves will already exchange data with each other using lasers. You can read more about how the SpaceX satellite network works in our material on this topic.
Why do you need a global network of Internet satellites
Analysts predict that in the next three to five years, most of the planet will have access to reliable and fast broadband. They estimate that more than three billion people will have access to products and services that were previously unavailable to them. These are educational platforms as well as online stores and social networks. The new audience for these services will contribute to the growth of the entire global economy.
In addition, remote regions will be able to communicate using high-quality audio and video communications, exchange messages and receive information. It will be possible to easily communicate via the Internet in areas where it was previously unavailable.
Development in the field of entertainment content cannot be ruled out. Services for streaming movies, TV series and music will gain a new audience. Ultimately, all these services will not only receive additional funding, but will also be able to use these funds to develop their platforms, which ultimately will benefit everyone, including you and me.
Vladimir Kuznetsov