Remember the time when satellite internet was considered slow and useless? Well, apparently, those days of satellite internet are over.
How?
The answer is simple. There are more brands in the market, so the quality is better, the packages are more affordable, and the competition is fierce. Now, most people think that better and more powerful satellite internet means it has the capacity to replace cable, DSL, and fiber internet.
If you are also curious about it and think satellite internet can be the future, then keep reading. This write-up will cover all the aspects related to satellite internet, its future, working, challenges, and ways it has improved.
How Satellite Internet Works?
We all know that satellite internet is pretty much available everywhere. However, regardless of its availability, the issue is that satellite internet is still slow.
Why?
To understand this, you need to know how satellite internet works.
Unlike other forms of internet that rely on wire-based infrastructure or fiber optics to transmit data, satellite internet relies on a dish and a router.
Every house has its own dish that is mainly used for transmitting and receiving the signals. This dish is fixed on the roof in clear sight, so there is no hindrance in the signals. Since the satellite is far away in space, the overall travel of signals requires a lot of time. This slows down the overall speed of the internet.
For a better understanding of its working, here is a step-by-step:
- You load something on your computer, so your device sends signals to the router, which then transmits it to the modem.
- The signals are sent in space by the dish and then recovered by the satellite. Eventually, the satellite relays the signals back to the ground station that is located on the Earth.
- This ground station is connected to the internet infrastructure, so it has the power to send the request to the main internet network.
- Finally, it’s time for the data retrieval, where the requested data is extracted from the internet and transmitted to the ground station.
- Now that the ground station has recovered the data, they send it back to the satellite in space.
- Satellite internet retrieves this data and sends it back to the satellite dish located on the roof.
- After the signals are received by the dish, it is then relayed to the modem, and then to the router, and finally to the device.
How Satellite Internet Has Improved Over the Years?
Although the basic concept of satellite internet is the same. More brands have come into the market, offering some of the best satellite internet currently available.
This also means high competition and a fierce war of technology. Every brand is trying hard to come up with better technology that can eventually help with the speed, reliability, and consistency of the internet signals.
Previously, there were just a few satellites present in space. These were placed quite far apart, so the distance was greater. However, now that new brands like Starlink have kicked off their services, their goal is to work on Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.
This helps in reducing the distance and hence the overall latency, making sure the speed is much better.
Moreover, the brand has promised that with the help of this project, they aim to launch more than 100,000 satellites by 2030. This means that not only will the speed be much better, but users will get to enjoy a much better online experience as well.
See also: Technology: The Backbone of Modern Development
Will Satellite Internet Replace Other Internet Types?
Now that satellite internet has improved so much, most people think that it might end up replacing other types of internet, i.e., cable, fiber, and DSL. Well, the answer is simple: even though satellite internet has improved a lot over the years, it is still quite slow.
Apart from this, satellite internet is expensive compared to other types, so it is not an ideal option.
Moreover, people use it as a last resort, which means when every other type of internet is unavailable and fails to deliver, satellite can be an excellent backup. Now that remote working has become the norm, people living in suburbs, rural areas, and remote places are relying on satellite, which is adding to its popularity.
Apart from this, the improved technology has ensured the user no longer has to compromise on the quality, so this is another reason behind its popularity.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that this internet is still not recommended for tech-savvy work, especially tasks that require high-speed internet like online gaming, HD movie streaming, or sharing heavy files.
Simply put, there is no doubt that satellite internet has come a long way, and it might well be the best internet when it comes to availability. However, satellite internet is still not an ideal option and will never be able to replace fiber or cable internet.
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