When Sputnik 1 successfully launched into space on October 4, 1957, it marked a Herculean moment in human history. After millennia of staring at the stars, we finally knew it was possible to launch continent-spanning communications and then mini-computer platforms into space to explore and provide vital intelligence about the Earth. The event also critically served as a launching pad for revolutionizing telecommunications and Earth Observation.
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Laser satellite communication (also called lasercom) is a subset of free-space optical communication, presenting significant advantages over Radio Frequency (RF) signals. Laser satellite users can expect increased data rates (bandwidth), enabling them to send and receive far more information than traditional radio waves. With major satellite players like Starlink and Amazon Project Kuiper investing in the technology, there is broader attention being paid to Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs).
Through vigorous standardization efforts, The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has laid the groundwork for satellite-based 5G connectivity using Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs). Leveraging satellites enables Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to provide broadband coverage to those tough-to-reach areas, such as remote construction sites or crop fields for agriculture, as well as in underserved regions. As will be spelled out in this post, 5G from space can even help save lives by providing low-latency broadband to users in emergency scenarios when terrestrial networks are unavailable. To capitalize on this US$18 billion market opportunity that NTN mobile presents, everyone from smartphone manufacturers to Satellite Communication (SatCom) service providers, and from chipset vendors to network operators, have been busy integrating satellite communications into their 5G solutions and striking numerous partnerships to strengthen their offerings.
According to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association’s (GSMA) The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2022 report, 5% of the world’s population, or 400 million people, still do not have access to a mobile broadband network. The key to bridging this digital divide is Satellite Communications (SatCom) service providers, who provide Internet access to historically unserved and underserved regions (e.g., rural areas and developing countries) via satellite constellations in space.
The Communication Service Providers (CSPs) of today either have their eye on or have already begun the process of virtualizing their networks. This comes in the form of Network Function Virtualization (NFV), notably Cloud-native Network Functions (CNFs). The responsibilities of traditional hardware network assets provided by Network Equipment Vendors (NEVs) are increasingly being carried out through software, which improves Time to Market (TTM). To fill this growing market need, public cloud service providers have come forward to help virtualize 4G/5G networks all around the world. The public cloud not only provides improved deployment flexibility, but also affordable “pay-as-you-go” pricing models based on microservice applications. While jumping straight into the public cloud may be practical for some newcomers (greenfield operators) or industry disruptors like DISH, the traditional CSP should still view private on-premises deployment as a proven telco cloud strategy because it delivers on performance, cost, and security. Indeed, in the near term, 5G Core (5GC) network workloads will likely be hosted in on-premises cloud stacks.