Satellite internet is the process of accessing the internet with the help of orbiting geostationary satellites. Through this service the connection could be taken anywhere as it provides global coverage. Therefore, it is the ideal internet access in places where quality of access is unreliable or poor or places where terrestrial internet access is unavailable. Moreover, it does not require a huge base station, but only a small antenna dish that communicates wirelessly with a satellite above the earth’s equator. Due to its effectiveness and reliability the Satellite internet is going to replace cable internet in near future if not completely but in a large scale.
Working Process
The process of accessing data and enjoying all services is not complex. Satellite internet works by using radio waves to communicate with satellites orbiting the earth. The service providers send an internet signal to a satellite in the space. This signal immediately comes back to the users and received through their satellite dish. The dish attached to the modem sends the captured signal to the user’s computer. The entire process is just like we click to a particular web link and access or send data and information. The process involves three satellite dishes—one at the internet service provider’s hub, another in the space, and the last one attached to the internet user’s property.
Data is sent and retrieved through the communication network which starts with the user’s device and travels through the user’s modem and satellite dish out to the satellite in space, then back to the ground stations, called the network operations centres (NOC) and reaches to the users.
The satellite internet uses a five-part relay system—Internet-ready device, modem/router; satellite dish on the earth; satellite dish in space; and NOC. Since satellite internet works by beaming information using radio waves through the vacuum of space, data travels 47 per cent faster than in fibre-optic cable.
Speed and Reliability
The new-generation satellites [Starlink (from SpaceX) and Project Kuiper (from Amazon)] are much closer to the earth at about 300 miles as they were launched into low-earth orbit (LEO). Therefore, these satellites provide faster internet speeds to users with lower latency (lag) than the traditional satellite internet services.
However, depending upon the latency (time taken for data to go from the computer and coming back the speed ranges from 12 to 100 Mbps, enough for common online activities such as e-mailing, browsing, conducting online classes and so on. Internet delivered via ground-laid fibre-optic cable offers upload and download speeds that are indeed much faster than satellite internet. So, satellite internet is not an option for fast paced gaming.
Though satellite internet is reliable most of the time its signals could be disrupted due to natural calamities such as heavy rains or storms. There may be obstruction in internet services due to snow build-up and other obstructions from blocking the field of view.
Satellite Internet and Wi-Fi
Through a satellite internet connection, the user can get Wi-Fi access through specially designed routers. This is because the satellite internet is a type of internet connection, while Wi-Fi refers to a wireless network. The user can set up a home Wi-Fi network with a satellite internet connection. This would allow the user to use internet on a laptop, phone, tablet or other wireless internet-connected device.
Availability and Streaming
Currently the service is available to over 99 per cent of the population of the US. Besides, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Portugal, Australia, and New Zealand also use satellite internet. There is a need for more and more low-earth orbit satellites (LEO) to offer satellite service to the majority of the globe. But over-crowding of these satellites poses a grave threat.
LEO Satellites a Cause of Concern
According to the European Space Agency, as of January 2022, more than 12,480 Starlink satellites have been launched, of which only 4,900 are active. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted permission to Elon Musk’s SpaceX for flying 12,000 Starlink satellites. The SpaceX has been gearing up to launch and deploy more than 40,000 small satellites into the orbit to form a mega constellation. This would enable the company to provide broadband internet service all over the world, including remote and underserved location.
The US space agency NASA is concerned that these low-earth orbit satellites (LEO) would create overcrowded highways in space and could lead to collisions. There is fear of increase in the frequency of conjunction events and possible impacts to spaceflight missions.
In 2019, shortly after the deployment of SpaceX’s first broadband satellites, the International Astronomical Union had raised an alarm warning of unforeseen consequences for stargazing and for the protection of nocturnal wildlife.
On the contrary Elon Musk argues that if there is a successful mission to Mars, then fibre optic communication would not help. Then satellite internet would be a better way to communicate.
Satellite Internet and India
Indian internet providers have been seeking to launch tens of thousands of satellites in the orbit to claim the internet satellite area in space. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has recently formed an alliance with Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), a Europe-based satellite broadband service provider. The company has formed a joint venture for entering into the satellite internet market.
With this joint venture, Reliance Jio has bridged the gap in Bharti Airtel Ltd’s OneWeb and Elon Musk’s Starlink for researching satellite internet services in India.
India has to cover a long distance to use the technology in its space programmes. More start-ups should devote their focus in this direction with government support.
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