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While Russia and China present the world with numerous difficulties, including war and security, the West continues to build its defenses in both the physical and digital worlds. Recently, the EU announced its intention to create a satellite network that will focus on the provision of broadband Internet services, but while this may offer some great advantages, it also faces a number of challenges. What advantages does the satellite internet network provide, why did the EU feel the need to establish its own network and what challenges does it face?
Why satellite internet networks can be useful
Almost all Internet connections on the planet are served by cable networks such as copper and fiber optic, and these will either terminate in a router that provides Ethernet access or wireless access via a Wi-Fi network. Although such networks offer high speed and low latency, their physical nature means they are often limited to built-up areas, which see remote places with poor or no internet access.
In such locations, reliable Internet access is achieved only through the use of satellite broadband services that take advantage of satellites in orbit to connect devices on the ground to ISPs. Of course, these internet services suffer from their own challengessuch as low bandwidth and high latencies, but the development of low-orbit satellites such as Starlink (SpaceX) and OneWeb aims to minimize these challenges while providing Internet access to entire countries.
But going beyond the obvious benefits of broadband satellite, there are numerous advantages to internet services in space which are not entirely obvious at first. The current Russian-Ukrainian war and China’s continued advancement in technology pose numerous threats to world stability, the global economy, and national defense.
For example, the reliance on the Internet in the West to monitor and control critical infrastructure allows foreign countries to attack power grids, water distribution and even transportation systems, which are known to be run by Russia and China. Another example of the dangers facing the West was the destruction of the Nordic 2 gas pipeline and numerous submarine internet cables connecting the Shetland Islands to Great Britain. Dependence on easily severable physical links allows an enemy nation to effectively cut critical communications infrastructure with ease.
Satellite Internet, however, is not so easily jammed, providing countries with a critical line of communication. Any hostile nation attempting to destroy satellites in orbit with missiles would face a number of challenges, including potential counterattacks on its own orbital infrastructure, risking Kepler syndrome (a cascading effect where all satellites in orbit are damaged by collisions) and causing possible loss of life through satellite collisions. with the earth.
EU collects 6 billion euros for satellite broadband network
Recently, the EU announced that it has raised over 6 billion euros in funding to create its own satellite internet service that would serve the EU bloc and some countries in Africa. The name of the new satellite constellation is IRIS2, which stands for Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnection and Security via Satellite, and this suggests that the primary objective of the constellation is to provide the EU with Internet redundancy.
Some reports suggest that the network will use around 170 low-orbit satellites to help reduce system latency, and these satellites are expected to be launched between 2025 and 2027. However, it is also likely that the service will be limited in use as that it can be used for critical infrastructure during emergency situations.
The driving force behind this new fund comes from the challenges posed by Russia and China, especially given that Russia has blocked terrestrial internet services in Ukraine in an attempt to control information. At the same time, China continues to launch numerous satellites while being reckless with destroying older satellite systems and allowing rockets to fall unchecked. However, it was also stated that the satellite network will be used to defend against cyber attacks and war and during natural disasters such as floods, storms and fires.
What challenges does satellite internet face?
By far, one of the The most significant challenges facing Internet satellites are costs. Despite the many promises made by Elon Musk about how Starlink will help solve everyone’s Internet problems, some quick math reveals that Starlink is far from cost-effective in practice. An excellent video diving into this challenge was posted by Common Sense Skeptic, who is known for debunking many tech announcements and developments.
https://vvv.youtube.com/vatch?v=2vuMzGhc1cg
Additional evidence to show that economic challenges facing satellite internet services stems from the reliance on government subsidies to provide Internet to the Ukrainian military, the fact that Starlink charged $2,500 per month for each of the 1,300 terminals provided, and the fact that many Starlink customers are seeing performance issues as the satellite network quickly approaches its maximum bandwidth capability.
Some might say that the above challenges are ones that only Starlink faces, but given that Starlink was able to pioneer the industry and has the rocket infrastructure to send thousands of satellites into space, it doesn’t bode well. for others. Although high-orbit satellites have latency and bandwidth issues, they can be made significantly larger, more reliable, and have a larger coverage area.
If the EU wants to create its own constellation, will first have to ignore all the hype surrounding companies like Starlink and do some basic math to determine whether such a constellation is economically viable. Second, the EU will have to recognize that such a network will not be able to serve everyone and will likely remain dormant until some natural disaster or attack occurs. All in all, such a plan is likely to lose huge amounts of money if not planned carefully, and just because everyone else has Internet satellites in orbit doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to follow suit.
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