A marriage of the two worlds

As terrestrial and satellite networks get together, they promise a revolution in global connectivity, blending their strengths to overcome traditional barriers

- DR SIDHARTH SHUKLA

The telecom networks space has been a battleground for decades, with the terrestrial and satellite worlds locked in relentless competition. Each has vied for supremacy, striving to assert dominance and position itself as the future of telecommunications.

The terrestrial world has been the elder brother of the two, which graduated from legacy analogue communications to bandwidth-efficient digital communications, incorporating technologies like Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) to make wired communication high-speed in the core part of telecom network. Wireless technologies have evolved from 1G and 2G to the present ultra-high speed 5G technology, primarily used in the access part of the telecom network.

The satellite world, on the other hand, evolved from L-, S-, and C-band satellite systems by placing GEO satellites and providing Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA) and Pre-Assigned Multiple Access (PAMA) voice and data circuits to remote areas not serviced by the terrestrial world. It graduated to LEO satellites in the 1990s, serviced by Iridium and Globalstar, enabling communication over satellite phones to individual users and gaining widespread popularity.