Is the Satellite Communications Industry Making a Comeback?（衛星通信産業は復活するのか？）

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites have always played a vital role in the global telecommunications industry, and in fact, long distance communications were difficult—if not impossible—across most of the world prior to their invention. The industry has come a long way since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I in 1957, but in more recent years, the satellite industry has fallen on hard times. The grand vision for a mass-market, satellite-based mobile communications network espoused by companies such as Motorola failed to materialize due to astronomical capital requirements, expensive handsets, and the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. Since then, commercial satellite communications companies have struggled to monetize and have mostly been limited to areas such as TV broadcasting, navigation for airplanes and ships, and connectivity in extremely remote areas. However, more recently, several startups are entering the commercial satellite communications space with upgraded technology and competitive pricing, which will have broad implications across the entire communications industry.

A New Era for Satellite Communications Fueled by New Entrants

In recent years, several new competitors have entered the satellite communications market, giving new life to the sector. The most notable companies in the space include:

SpaceX – The most ambitious player in the sector by far, the Elon Musk-backed venture currently operates a fleet of over 4,400 satellites, but the company has ambitious plans to deploy up to 42,000 satellites in order to provide broadband access anywhere in the world. Its Starlink broadband basic package is currently priced at US$99 per month, US$499 for hardware, and a US$99 deposit with no data caps. Current speeds range from 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps with a latency of 20 ms to 40 ms, but Starlink’s ultimate vision is to provide end-user speeds of 10 Gbps. The company currently has roughly 145,000 subscribers in 25 countries.

OneWeb – This SoftBank-backed company is another emerging company in the satellite communications space, and as of February 2022, has deployed 428 satellites representing 66% of its goal. Unlike Starlink, OneWeb is focusing on the enterprise market exclusively. Pre-commercial tests have delivered speeds of between 156 Mbps to 400 Mbps, and the required hardware costs between US$1,000 to US$1,500. The company expects to complete its network deployment and launch commercial service by the end of 2022.

Telesat – This existing Canadian satellite operator is revamping its business model to include LEOs to compete with startups, and is planning to deploy 298 satellites for its Lightspeed broadband offering, which it claims will offer commercial services of over 1 Gbps. The company will launch its first satellites in 2023, with global coverage expected by 2024.

Amazon.com – Project Kuniper is the codename for Amazon’s planned satellite broadband service, and in 2019, the company applied for permission from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy a global network of 3,236 satellites to supply worldwide broadband connectivity. Amazon has not released much information about the upcoming service regarding pricing or service quality, but it must deploy at least half of its fleet by 2026 in order to fulfill the conditions of its license.