Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are much smaller and
orbit closer to Earth than traditional satellites. The lower
orbit dramatically reduces the time lag that usually comes with
satellite broadband internet. The purpose of these satellites is
to blanket the earth and provide wireless internet service
everywhere.
Elon Musk's SpaceX has
plans to launch as many as 12,000 satellites as part of its
Starlink constellation. Each Starlink satellite weighs about 500
pounds (227 kilograms) and is about the size of an office desk.
They will deploy into orbit about 273 miles (440 kilometers) up.
After the first successful launch, the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) approved Starlink’s formal request to offer
broadband service. That service will take a few years to get
enough satellites in place for a viable network. Starlink’s
ultimate goal is to launch 4,425 satellites by 2024, but it will
likely start offering service before then.
Amazon plans to launch
a constellation of 3,236 satellites into low Earth orbit in
order to provide internet to “unserved and underserved
communities around the world.” Amazon confirmed that Kuiper
Systems is one of its projects.
Telesat successfully
launched a test LEO satellite in January 2018. Telesat announced
during July 2019 that it had partnered with the Government of
Canada in a mission to provide affordable high-speed Internet
connectivity across rural and remote areas of Canada through the
development of Telesat's LEO Satellite Constellation. Blue
Origin will launch the next Telesat LEO satellites using its New
Glenn rocket, which is currently under construction. Telesat
plans to launch 120 LEO satellites by 2021, all with Blue
Origin.
OneWeb has an initial
600-satellite constellation currently being built out to provide
global satellite Internet broadband services beginning in 2021.
The first six satellites of the constellation were launched in
February 2019 and plans to launch 900 LEO satellites by the end
of 2019 using Virgin Orbit and Blue Origin. OneWeb is
considering nearly quadrupling the size of the satellite
constellation over time by adding 1,972 additional satellites.
Jeff Bezos’s rocket
company, Blue Origin, is not building a satellite network, but
is building reusable spacecrafts to launch satellites for a
variety of companies. Telesat, the largest satellite internet
provider in Canada, is one such company.
Loon, started by Google
and now run by parent company Alphabet, is slightly different
from the other companies. It is not building a satellite
constellation, but it is using similar concepts. Instead of an
orbiting network in space, Loon uses weather balloons to float
transmitters high in the atmosphere, essentially creating a
floating network in the sky.
Facebook, filed a
request with the federal government to fly a single experimental
satellite in low orbit. It has not committed to deploy a
full-fledged network or revealed much about its strategy. Other
smaller companies with smaller wallets have also begun to join
the race.
All will also require a
network of Earth stations for the satellites to communicate
with. There is much competition, many dollars to spend, and much
work to do before we see the results in our living rooms.