SpaceX broadband satellite constellation is more ambitious than previous such failed attempts

Elon Musk owned SpaceX has approached the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to get government approval for launching a constellation of satellites that will give broadband access to the United States and the World.

The plan is a part of natural progression of communications technology. International telephony was supported by communications satellites. Delivering television to the home was the next problem that was solved through the use of satellites. Recently, broadband access to aircraft and ships have been provided through satellite links. The next step is to provide broadband access using satellites, and SpaceX plans to do just that. The SpaceX constellation is expected to provide low latency connections at gigabit speeds.

The satellites are meant to be adaptable to the current terrestrial laws and requirements. Beamforming allows the satellites to deliver broadband access in targeted areas. Optical inter satellite links will make sure the constellation is coordinated in broadband delivery. The target latency is 25-35 ms. The system consists of a low profile terminal for access, that can be mounted on walls or roofs. It is expected to be a low cost service. At the end of five to seven years, the satellites are expected to de-orbit safely, without leaving behind any space debris. The de-orbit rate planned is faster than required international standards.

OneWeb also has similar plans of launching a constellation of 648 for providing broadband connectivity. Microsatellites will be used with a capacity of manufacturing upto 15 satellites a week. The satellites are being produced in partnership with Airbus. Last mile connectivity will be through low cost user terminals. The neutral network is open to integration with third-party Internet service providers.

Both OneWeb and SpaceX aim to provide critical broadband connectivity to the underserved and unserved areas. Remote rural areas around the world stand to benefit the most from these constellations. Providing healthcare, banking and education services to remote areas is one of the objectives of the constellations. In disaster situations, if the existing infrastructure is knocked out, the satellite constellations can be used to quickly deploy internet in the affected region.

A constellation of satellites providing broadband access to the underserved and unserved is not a new idea. There have been three previous high profile failures of such attempts. The Bill Gates backed Teledesic attempted to put up 840 satellites, a number that was reduced to 288 in 1997. The company folded because of escalating financial and technical risks. Tren Griffin, who worked at the Teledesic startup before joining Microsoft, details the failure in this blogpost .

A Motorola pet project, Iridium had a plan to launch a constellation of 66 satellites to provide data services. The high cost of the service, coupled with the manufacturing of the satellites, lead to one of the biggest bankruptcies in US history. Iridium filed for bankruptcy in 2009, more details are in this Indpendent  article on the failure of Iridium .

Technology has progressed enough to make cheaper and smaller satellites. The Teledesic constellation of 840 satellites was expected to cost $9 Billion in 1994. In 2016, a constellation of 4,425  SpaceX satellites is expected to cost about $10 billion. Griffin claims that the communication capabilities of these satellite constellations are suitable for boosting backhaul capacity, providing services to areas affected by emergencies, for military uses, and for ships and aircraft in remote locations. The practical usage for the end-user is going to be less. Still, the constellations can contribute, either as backhaul or last mile connectivity. Over two billion gigabytes of internet traffic is expected to be exchanged worldwide in the year 2020, and every bit can only help.