The advantages of enhanced broadband connections to the Internet have been touted far and wide. Convergence of telecommunication and information technology has opened us to a world of digital photography, music and video conferencing. Still, the demand for faster and more efficient communication is only increasing.
In order to the increasing demand for more and better services, it is imperative to enhance the bandwidth connectivity. The exponential growth of the Internet coupled with cutting-edge technology and new products emerging almost daily poses new challenges for the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). A specialized agency of UN, this Geneva-based body is a forum for harmonizing and coordinating policies and regulations for the telecom industry.

Connections in Space

Space technology has the answer to “anytime-anywhere” access to the Internet. Explains Rajesh Mehrotra, senior radiocommunications engineer at ITU, there are basically two types of satellites: geostationary satellites (GEOs) and non-geostationary satellites, which include low earth orbiting satellites (LEOs). Whereas GEOs orbit at a distance of 36,000 km above the earth, LEOs are situated closer, typically around a few thousand kilometers. GEOs are used for most broadcast applications, unfortunately, their distance does not facilitate fiber optic speed required for present two-way networks. LEOs, on the other hand, are conducive to real-time interactive communication, a facility important for Internet applications. This capability doesn’t come free, however: To provide communication at high elevation angle, many LEOs must be used to overcome obstruction losses and provide compatibility with terrestrial networks sharing the same spectrum resource. This new capability is especially important, as so far all broadband connections to the Internet have been through ground networks.

Why do we need satellites at all? Says Mehrotra, “Relying solely on fiber optics network (that can support numerous multimedia signals) has all the disadvantages of cable networks. It is physically not possible and economically not viable to reach all parts of the world through a ground network. Further, the remote parts would have to pay a lot more to get connected, not to mention maintenance issues. But probably the most important factor is that LEOs can provide bandwidth on demand. Therefore one will pay only for the bandwidth one uses.”

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