October 10, 2024
What is satellite communication?
We all know what satellites are. They are these human-made objects that orbit earth and usually collect data about weather, space etc. and send it back to earth. Then there are “communication satellites” that allow wireless communication to/from earth. (The satellite might be placed in LEO – Low Earth Orbit which is typically from several hundred to a few thousand KMs, MEO – Medium Earth Orbit which can be 10-30 Kms high above the earth or GEO – Geosynchronous Earth Orbit which is 36 KM high.)
Typical use of satellites is “satellite broadcast”, i.e. one-way dissemination of data to many receivers such as the transmission of the live video of a sporting event for the TVs. Satellite communication on the other hand means a two-way communication. This is typically used in marine or wartime communications where the usual land-based communication networks can’t be used. Imagine those big satellite phones used by ship captains or soldiers!
Wouldn’t delay be a problem in SatCom?
Yes! Because the signal needs to travel anywhere between several hundred to several thousand kilometers, satellite communication usually means a delay of several seconds. For LEO, the delay could still be under a second but for GEO, it could be several seconds. (That’s why the video stream of a match on your TV lags behind the radio commentary a bit!)
Delay is not the only disadvantage of SatCom. Cost is another. Compared to land-based communication networks (mobile phone networks, internet cables etc.), satellite communication is expensive because you need to launch multiple satellites in orbit to enable the communication and also produce special devices that can send and receive the signal to/from these satellites.
Why do we want SatCom for mobiles … or cars … or whatever then?
Well, there are many reasons why SatCom can be useful. Firstly, it can provide connectivity in remote areas and fill those “coverage holes” in cities or country-side. That’s the most touted use-case for SatCom. Secondly, because of the above coverage, SatCom can provide emergency connectivity services, like SOS, in remote locations or when other networks are not working. Thirdly, if the delay is short enough (e.g. with LEO satellites), SatCom can also be used to provide internet in previously untapped geographical areas. (This is exactly what SpaceX, Amazon and Facebook are striving to do, by the way)
But it’s not just the usefulness of SatCom that makes industry people crazy for it. They also want the bragging rights for being “world’s first” in launching SatCom based services or products. Also, once the technology is there, it will eventually mature and become cheaper. That’s when we humans will really get the most out of it.
As far as the cost of SatCom is concerned, industries such as automotive, agriculture or heavy machinery will be able to afford it much earlier than the mobile phone industry (cost per piece of the product being the key factor). These are the exact industries that are the most excited about SatCom.
WirelessMobility is a producer of electronic modules for wireless communications (4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, NB IoT, Bluetooth etc.) and is already developing NTN Satellite Communication modules for the automotive industry. You can’t have SatCom without NTN-enabled devices and WirelessMobility is there to provide them.
