By Ron Faith, President & COO
While communications from low-Earth orbit have garnered much of the recent press around value being generated from space, the Internet of Things (IoT) is poised to make headlines in 2021. Companies like Swarm, Sky and Space Company, Spire, and many others are working towards the day where satellites can communicate with a vast array of devices and sensors on the ground with low latency. What will a successful ground system look like for these IoT companies? We will look at how the needs of IoT constellations are different from other satellite operators from the perspective of the ground segment.
We see a day coming where every device and sensor can be networked with the cloud, from the appliances in your home, to ships at sea, to remote mining operations. All of the data from these devices will need to make its way back to the device’s manufacturer or owner. But how will that happen? While 5G is well suited for this task in areas where there is 5G coverage, there are many parts of the world, in fact the majority of the world, where 5G is not readily available. This is where satellite systems can help fill the gap. Just as SpaceX’s Starlink and the OneWeb constellations are augmenting areas where high-speed internet is not readily available, satellites will provide IoT connectivity. To address this trend, a wave of IoT constellations are being planned, launched, and executed. Once these constellations are in orbit, how do they get their data back down to the ground? IoT companies have special requirements that diverge from traditional communications (comms) and Earth observation (EO) companies.
Data rates for IoT constellations may be more bursty than their EO and comms cousins, but reliability is key in order to sustain near real-time operations on the ground. IoT LEO passes are often shorter in duration than traditional passes, therefore requiring a flexible ground service that can account for the actual duration of the needed passes. IoT constellations are also sensitive to low latency. For these new LEO constellations, a truly global network of ground systems is needed to meet these latency requirements. Depending on the number of spacecraft in orbit, the customer may even want to lease entirely the antenna for their exclusive use yet still outsource the management of that antenna. RBC Signals’ customer Swarm now has 72 operational spacecraft out of a planned constellation of 150. These small satellites enable their customers to connect at a low cost for two-way communication in space, as detailed in a recent SpaceNews article.
IoT satellite operators have a business model that is aligned with low cost per message pricing. IoT satellite operators need a ground station solution that has flexible pricing models that can support their go to market pricing structures. Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS) providers that can be flexible in pricing structures that recognize this need will win the day.
In conclusion, IoT satellite operators need a different ground solution than traditional comms and EO providers. IoT providers also need a global network for global coverage. They need pricing and a busines model for their ground solution that map to their pricing and cost for the ultimate solution for their end customers. At RBC Signals, we support multiple IoT constellations today with a global ground station network and flexible pricing models. We look forward to IoT constellation operators’ growth and success in the coming years.