Satellite internet is helping to bridge the digital divide, but the cost remains a significant barrier for many people. The United Nations has set a goal for every person to have safe and affordable access to the internet, including meaningful use of digitally enabled services by 2030. However, the International Telecommunication Union notes that a majority of the 3.7 billion people who remain without regular or high-speed internet access live in the world’s least developed countries. The cost of deploying fiber optic cables is amortized over lots of subscribers, making it feasible in high-density areas but not in sparsely populated regions. Satellite internet is a solution for areas where fiber is not feasible. SpaceX’s Starlink provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet to about 1.5 million customers worldwide with a “constellation” of low-Earth-orbit satellites. The company has launched over 4,000 satellites and plans to expand its services to Nigeria, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and Tanzania by December. However, the cost of maintaining a satellite network is expensive, requiring more monitoring and maintenance than a conventional system. David Michelson, who leads the Radio Science Lab at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, said that one issue that bears watching is how Starlink will integrate with the satellite network as opposed to the way it would integrate if it was built to the standards or developed at the behest of ITU for 5G.
