Press Releases
A user guide to the satellite applications
Yes, we are winning. Thank you, Mr. Elon Musk.
Slowly but surely, and largely due to the publicity created by the StarLink service of Space X, and the achievements of Elon Musk, the industry is realising that the Myths of satellite is slowly disappearing – remember the old myths, i.e. that satellite is slow, expensive and has a latency problem.
Today network architects are starting to realise that satellite technology is undergoing rapid development and is very much relevant for today and the future of connectivity.
The discussion is moving on – architects now want to understand more. Questions now are exactly where does satellite fits into the bouquet of possible connectivity solutions? what applications are ideal? and how do I integrate satellite links with the rest of my network?
In this discussion, we will start with the first and primary criteria – what applications are ideal for satellite?
Understanding the fundamentals
Asking this question is a brilliant sign of good thoughts and the correct approach to network design. It underlines the fundamental understanding that technologies are very different and that each technology has pros and cons and is best suited for different applications.
At the risk of over-simplification, here is a short recap of technology fundamentals as applicable to the most popular connectivity options.
*Note: Twoobii is the high throughput satellite solution, powered by the latest Intelsat platforms and operated by Q-KON – see www.twoobii.com.
Application Scale
Integrating the listed technology characteristics with different user requirements and connectivity applications we can generate the following application scale which provides an easy-to-read reference of what technology is best suited for what application. For this example, we are considering the following applications; Primary service, back-up or standby service, high availability services, SD-WAN secondary links and on-demand applications.
In this application scale a “high” score indicates a good fit between the application and the technology, whereas a “weak” score indicates a poor fit between technology and application.
Conclusion
Understanding the key characteristic of each telecommunication technology is an excellent first step to sound network architecture and designing networks with the best performance at the lowest cost levels. It also demonstrates that different technologies serve different applications and that it is not a “one-size-fits-all” scenario.
From this understanding, it is also clear to see the benefits of satellite services and where the new HTS services like the Q-KON Twoobii service offers strong business benefits.
