New satellites could save Americans $ 30 billion on monthly Internet bills, report says



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New satellite technology could drive down Internet service prices, according to a new report.

Low Earth Orbit satellites (LEO) from Eon Musk's SpaceX Starlink project and Jeff Bezos' Kuiper project could save US households more than $ 30 billion a year by introducing more competition in broadband, according to a report from BroadbandNow.

"The arrival of this emerging technology is likely to drive down monthly internet prices for hundreds of millions of Americans," the report says. In short, the higher the number of broadband Internet services available in a region, the lower the price consumers will pay on average.

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These LEO satellites gravitate around the planet between 99 and 1,200 miles, compared to 22,000 miles for traditional GEO satellites. This means "less time to transfer information (reduced latency) and a quality of service comparable to that of cable broadband providers and fiber optic providers," added BroadbandNow.

Last week, Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, announced that the company will launch dozens of Starlink satellites in mid-May. According to several reports, SpaceX plans to create more LEO satellites.

Amazon has also asked spectrum regulators to have a constellation of 3,236 satellites, according to reported information. The company led by Bezos specifically mentioned that LEO satellites would provide low latency high-speed Internet service to "underserved and underserved communities," according to Spacenews.

The lowest average monthly price available for the estimated 104 million Americans with a single wired broadband provider is $ 68, BroadbandNow said. For the roughly 75 million Americans who have a choice between two suppliers, the lowest average price drops to $ 59. For the 15 million Americans with five or more choices, the price drops to $ 47.

And with low latency satellites, the quality of service could also be improved.

"In the case of a video conversation or live stream, high latency will result in potentially inconvenient delays, depending on its severity and many other conditions," Tyler Cooper, editor-in-chief at Fox News, told reporters. BroadbandNow.

"No activity relies on low latency, unlike gaming," Cooper added. "In online video games, players often interact directly with each other and, in the case of competitive games, these interactions often consist of exchanges of a fraction of a second. In this scenario, low latency can actually mean the difference between "playable" and "unplayable." "

The SpaceX and Amazon projects are still in their infancy, so do not expect the competition to change overnight, Cooper said. "There is no guarantee in this area, but as long as they are able to develop the networks that they have described up to here, these companies will really be able to. offer unprecedented levels of access to millions of Americans who are currently underserved. "

Other companies are also working on LEO projects, but these would be in their infancy.

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