Stefan Mileschin

Low Earth Orbit satellites show signs of potential

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink star wars battle over orbiting internet systems might push down the cost of broadband for everyone.

BroadbandNow has been adding up some numbers and concluded that Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for broadband internet access are beginning to display signs of real potential.

Musk and Bezos are spending billions in space in hopes of making further billions annually once the satellites go into service for consumers in the US and around the globe. SpaceX will initially launch service to North America, but once its full array is in place, the company has plans to roll the service out across the entire planet.

Broadband now says the arrival of this technology is likely to drive down monthly internet prices.

The average "lowest available monthly price" for the estimated 104 million Americans with only one wired broadband provider is $68. For the 75 million Americans with two choices, that average lowest price drops to $59. For the lucky 15 million Americans with five or more choices, it's $47.

Because LEO technology will ostensibly be available everywhere in the US, as well as globally, this indicates the powerful influence the entrance of the technology will have on internet prices as new markets gain access to an additional true "broadband" option and competition heats-up.

“Our projections show that that low-latency, LEO satellite internet is likely to have a similar impact on average regional prices as wired, low-latency wired providers. Extrapolating this additional competitor across all US households, the introduction of LEO satellite internet could save Americans over $30 billion,” Broadband today wrote.

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