Sanjiv Nadkarni
After recent announcements by two telecom companies that they plan to collaborate with Startlink there has been a lot of curiosity in people’s minds about new service that will be available in India. Startlink is a subsidiary of the US company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) owned by Elon Musk.
Startlink offers internet service based on constellation of mini satellites nearly 7,000 of them orbiting close to the earth and likely to grow by few more thousands in few years. They are called Low Earth Orbit or LEO satellites that communicate with transceivers located on ground. They orbit between 200 and 2000 KMs above the earth,
Presently two types of internet services are used- wireless and fiber based. Wireless service is available to us through mobile towers, Radio frequency bands are used in place of telephone or cable networks. One of the greatest advantages of wireless internet connections is the “always-on” connection that can be accessed from any location that falls within network coverage. Wireless connections are made possible through use of a modem, which picks up Internet signals and sends them to other devices like a computer or directly through in built wifi in mobile phones.
Fiber based is a broadband internet service in which physical fiber optic cable is laid by service provider up to user’s premises. It converts information into light signals at one end and into electrical signals at other end in a way receiving device understands it and interprets as data.
Optical fiber is a thin strand of wires of thickness of human hair. This service offers very high speed compared to old copper based Internet connection we used in mid 90s. Fiber carries much more data and hence multiple users can use a connection simultaneously without much slowdown. It is more reliable as signal loss is low and is preferred by business entities.
The interesting question is, when good internet is already available in India why the two mobile companies want to bring in new satellite based internet service? The main reason is its reach.
Sometimes when we call a mobile number we experience message that called phone is out of reach indicating that signal does not reach the phone location. Such a thing generally does not happen with satellite internet. But it does have its own weather related problems. Satellite internet has its specific application areas which cannot be served by wi-fi or fiber based internet because traditional internet is not possible as terrestrial infrastructure cannot be set up as in deep sea. Obviously this offers additional business opportunities.
It requires a set up similar to one we have for home TV connection. A dish needs to be installed at user premises. Dish communicates with a modem which in turn communicates with user device like a computer just as TV dish is connected to set top box which in turn is connected to TV,
When a request is made to open a web page, data is sent to satellite dish outside your premises through indoor modem. The dish transmits this data by radio waves to satellite in orbit. Satellite relays the data to a ground station connected to Internet. This is similar to a phone calling another phone.
Call goes through a gateway (earlier we called it telephone exchange) that keeps track of who called, who was called, start and end time of call etc. Based on data so collected usage is tracked and post paid bill gets generated or prepaid balance is calculated. Ground station sends the request to intended web page and return cycle starts. Web page data is relayed by ground station to satellite which in turn sends it to dish installed outside your premises and then to modem which converts it in to signals which are understood by your computer that requested the web page. This makes it easy to reach remote locations as this service does not need mobile towers or installation of fiber.
Generally, fiber based solution (5G) provides faster speeds and lower latency than satellite internet, making former a more attractive choice for applications needing faster download speeds or low-latency connectivity. Latency in layman’s term is time taken between telling a person to do a work and he actually doing it, 5G is well-suited for real-time applications such as IoT, Whereas satellite internet excels in providing internet access to remote areas where fiber is impractical. This opens up new areas of business.
Satellite internet is an expensive solution. You have to pay for outdoor dish, indoor modem and their maintenance costs. Data usage charges depend on your pack. On lower side monthly tariff abroad is equivalent of about Rs 7,000. Tariff in India is not known. But it has its own business segments.
There are thousands of merchant ships travelling in oceans. They need internet. Similarly thousands of flights cross sky daily. There are mountainous terrains where terrestrial infrastructure cannot be laid. These are potential areas for satellite Internet.
While offering service to remote locations is its key strength it has its downside too. Since signals from satellites are transmitted through the air, they are prone to a variety of air disturbances. Rainstorms, snow, heavy winds can deflect and disrupt signal transmission, causing unstable speeds and intermittent breaks in connectivity. In rainy season we sometimes experience TV screen going blank due to scattered signals; a phenomenon called “rain fade”. Such a thing can happen with satellite Internet.
Terrestrial and satellite based internet have their advantages and disadvantages. They have their own areas of business. The two companies that announced plans to bring Starlink service are eying niche areas of business where competition will be far and few.
Technological innovations in communication have been mind boggling. Telex and tele-printers have been long discarded. Fax is being forgotten. If we want to be relevant in today’s digital age we need to be able to contact anybody anywhere, reaching every nook and corner on earth whether on plains, mountains, islands, in trains, ships, aeroplanes or space crafts at affordable costs.
Mankind has made a lot of progress in communication. It is not possible to mark a point where success has reached finality. Success is like moving in a circle where you never come to an end. Man’s pursuit for improvements and innovations will continue perpetually. Some things sometimes seem impossible until they are accomplished,
The writer works in areas of IT, renewable energy and can be reached at sanjivnadkarni@hotmail.com
