Satellite Internet of Things

Internet of Things in Telecom

Main article: Internet of Things in Telecom

2024: How low-orbit satellite systems of the Internet of Things are developing in Russia

As of 2024, Internet of Things (IoT) systems are based primarily on the use of terrestrial wireless networks, but satellite platforms are also developing that can provide services that are not available in conventional infrastructure. The development of satellite IoT technologies is actively underway in Russia, as stated in the materials of J'son & Partners Consulting, published in August 2024.

Satellite IoT provides for the formation of communication channels based on spacecraft. Such platforms can be used to monitor the state of remote facilities and systems, automatically configure technological processes at remote and hard-to-reach facilities, prevent emergency and emergency situations at enterprises, etc.

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In monetary terms, the perspective of the satellite IoT market is quite good and in 2030 the volume of the industry on a global scale can range from $6 billion per year, and its potential in the long term is estimated at $10-$ 12 billion per year. Moreover, the main share of costs (approximately 70-75%) belongs to services. In Russia, the potential for connections is approximately 15 million devices, while the market volume in monetary terms is equivalent to $300 million - for example, when implementing the Marathon IoT system in accordance with the original project. Marathon IoT is a satellite constellation for the provision of Internet of Things services, which will be created as part of the Sphere program. In total, it will include over 250 devices weighing no more than 50 kg each. They will be placed in 12 orbital planes at an altitude of about 750 km. According to the general director of Reshetnev JSC Yevgeny Nesterov, conveyor production of devices for this platform will begin in 2024. The company plans to release five satellites by 2025, and 44 devices by 2026.

The J'son & Partners Consulting report notes that the relevance of satellite IoT services for Russia is very high, especially in combination with the existing ERA-GLONASS GAIS information platform for implementing the tasks outlined in national and federal projects. High activity in the satellite IoT segment is shown by companies that specialize in the development of nano- and microsatellites. The new task is to develop a system for monitoring and issuing commands for the operation of unmanned aircraft outside the line of sight. The satellite component of this system should be based on the use of real-time satellite IoT technology.

It is said that IoT satellite systems are an independent class of communication systems. The impetus for the development of the satellite Internet of Things was the mass production of small spacecraft, including nanosatellites. Another factor is the development of the direct communication service "satellite smartphone." Operators are talking about creating a single ecosystem, 5G part of which are Internet of Things services.

However, there are security issues. If in other sectors of the satellite industry developers rely on hardware protection, then in IoT this does not work so effectively. As a rule, Internet of Things satellites are small in size and weight. And the deployment of built-in hardware security solutions greatly increases the cost of producing and launching such satellites, which makes business unprofitable. Another problem is that a large number of spacecraft can cause interference. Operators must protect the operation of other satellites and communication services by coordinating the distribution of the frequency band, but in practice this does not always happen. The threat of interference is exacerbated by the increase in the total number of spacecraft, as well as by the use of satellites made using the same component base.^[1]

2020: The world counted 3.4 million subscribers of the satellite Internet of Things

The global subscriber base of the satellite Internet of Things in 2020 exceeded 3.4 million people. Such data were given in a study by the analytical company Berg Insight, the results of which were published in early October 2021.

According to Berg Insight, only about 10% of the Earth's surface has access to ground communication services, which opens up huge opportunities for the development of IoT satellite communications. Satellite communications provide an addition to terrestrial cellular and non-cellular networks at remote locations, which is particularly useful for applications in the agriculture, asset tracking, maritime and intermodal transportation, oil and gas industry exploration, utilities, construction, and government sectors.

Berg Insight analysts counted 3.4 million subscribers of the satellite Internet of Things in the world

The study includes an analysis of the activities of 38 satellite Internet of Things operators. At the end of 2020, the operator Orbprom had 1.2 million subscribers of the satellite Internet of Things in its own network and in networks with partner Inmarsat. Iridium and Globalstar had 1.1 million and 0.4 million subscribers, respectively. Other players with a subscriber base of several thousand include the French company Kineis and Thuraya in the UAE.

Orbotten, Inmarsat, Iridium and Globalstar are the largest operators of the IoT satellite network. While most rely on proprietary satellite communications technology to support IoT devices, some are beginning to use terrestrial wireless IoT connectivity technologies including OQ Technology, AST SpaceMobile, Omnispace, Sateliot, and Galaxy Space (3GPP 4G5G /); EchoStar Mobile и Lacuna Space (LoRaWAN); and (Eutelsat Sigfox), notes Berg Insight chief analyst Johan Fagerberg.

In addition to existing satellite operators, a number of new initiatives have appeared on the market. Among the best known projects are: Astrocast, CASC/CASIC, Fleet Space Technologies, Hiber, Ingenu, Kepler Communications, Lynk, Myriota, Skylo, Swarm Technologies (SpaceX) and Totum Labs. Many are based on LEO small satellite concepts.^[2]

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