FCC Has “Serious Doubts” that SpaceX Can Deliver Latencies Under 100ms
June 14th, 2020In the darkest days of my Internet connectivity hell in rural NZ, I had to use IPstar, which had latencies as high as 1000ms+. Yep. Not a typo. Over a second.
How is SpaceX going to improve on that by a couple orders of magnitude? Operating the Starlink constellation in low earth orbit is part of the plan. Additionally, initial rumors indicated that Starlink would use optical backhaul, which, in the vacuum of space, would be extremely fast, perhaps 50% faster than fiber.
But optical backhaul isn’t happening. At least not yet.
As this must read piece in LaserFocusWorld states, “Many challenges remain to be overcome in linking small satellites via laser, but progress is being made.”
Once again, can SpaceX achieve low latencies without optical backhaul?
Professor Mark Handly considers the possibility that SpaceX could achieve low latency using ground stations.
A couple of hours ago, Musk continued to stand behind the 20ms claim and taunts us with 8ms in the future:
Around 20ms. It’s designed to run real-time, competitive video games. Version 2, which is at lower altitude could be as low as 8ms latency.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 15, 2020
If you live in New Zealand: Please sign up to be notified about Starlink developments and include your country and postal code. Rural Internet services in NZ continue to have us over a barrel. It would be nice if there was competition from the SkyMusk system.
Via: Ars Technica:
Service providers that intend to use low-Earth orbit satellites claim that the latency of their technology is “dictated by the laws of physics” due to the altitude of the satellite’s orbit. We remain skeptical that the altitude of a satellite’s orbit is the sole determinant of a satellite applicant’s ability to meet the Commission’s low-latency performance requirements. As commenters have explained, the latency experienced by customers of a specific technology is not merely a matter of the physics of one link in the transmission. Propagation delay in a satellite network does not alone account for latency in other parts of the network such as processing, routing, and transporting traffic to its destination. Short-form applicants seeking to bid as a low-latency provider using low-Earth orbit satellite networks will face a substantial challenge demonstrating to Commission staff that their networks can deliver real-world performance to consumers below the Commission’s 100ms low-latency threshold.
…
SpaceX has argued that the FCC’s skepticism is unwarranted, telling agency officials that its Starlink broadband system “easily clears the commission’s 100ms threshold for low-latency services, even including its ‘processing time’ during unrealistic worst-case scenarios.” While altitude isn’t the only factor in latency, SpaceX’s altitudes, ranging from 540km to 570km, are a fraction of the 35,000km used with geostationary satellites. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said the company is aiming for latency below 20ms, similar to cable Internet and low enough to support competitive online gaming. SpaceX will have a chance to make its case in detail to the FCC during the application stage.
