SpaceX is first with inter-satellite laser links in low-Earth orbit, but others will follow.

SpaceX is willing to subsidize expensive hardware like laser links and end-user terminals in the short run.

When SpaceX first announced plans for Starlink, their low-Earth orbit Internet service constellation, they said each satellite would have five inter-satellite laser links (ISLLs) -- two links to satellites in the same orbital plane, two to satellites in adjacent orbital planes, and one to a satellite in a crossing plane. They subsequently dropped the crossing link as too difficult and, when they finally began launching satellites, they had no laser links. Last year they tested ISLLs on two satellites.

Last November, SpaceX requested that the FCC modify its license to allow them to operate 348 satellites at an altitude of 560 km and an inclination of 97.6 degrees in order to serve the polar regions. This month, the FCC postponed their decision on the 348 satellites, but granted SpaceX permission to operate ten satellites to "facilitate the continued development and testing of SpaceX’s broadband service in high latitude geographic areas" and those ten satellites were launched as part of a 143-satellite rideshare.

That rideshare was a record-setter, but it is more interesting to note that those ten polar-orbit satellites were equipped with operational ISLLs and Elon Musk confirmed that the remaining 338 would also have ISLLs if approved. In the same tweet, he confirmed that their inclined-orbit satellites would be equipped with ISLLs next year, but only the polar satellites would have them this year.

SpaceX must be confident that the full 348 satellites will be authorized since the first ten, while useful for tests, would not provide meaningful connectivity and my guess is that the polar-orbit satellites will be able to link to the inclined-orbit satellites with lasers when they begin launching next year. (Note that Telesat has applied for a patent on a Dual LEO Satellite System in which polar and inclined-orbit satellites communicate with each other).

How about the other LEO satellite projects?

Telesat plans to launch a hybrid constellation with laser links connecting polar and inclined satellites and is already working with Mynaric, a German laser communication company, on Blackjack, a LEO constellation being developed for the US Department of Defense, so Mynaric may supply the lasers for Telesat's satellites. It's also interesting that Mynaric's US office is in Hawthorne, California, home of SpaceX. OneWeb initially planned to equip their satellites with ISLLs, but they decided not to for cost and political reasons. As far as I know, Jeff Bezos' Project Kuiper has not officially committed to having ISLLs between their satellites, but they are hiring optical engineers to work on the constellation and are planning applications that will benefit from ISLLs. I don't know about the Chinese broadband LEO companies, but at least one Chinese company Intane, produces space lasers. (Mynaric has withdrawn from the Chinese market due to political pressure).

HydRON connecting the ground,
LEO and GEO satellites and deep space

In the long run, I expect that every LEO broadband provider that survives, will be linking their satellites with ISLLs -- doing so will lower latency and reduce the need for terrestrial ground stations. Furthermore, I expect we will see ISLLs between LEO, MEO and GEO satellites. Telesat and OneWeb may have the lead on multi-layer links since Telesat is already a well-established GEO satellite communication company and Hughes is an investor in OneWeb. SES, which operates both MEO and GEO satellites is an investor in the forthcoming European Union LEO constellation and the European Space Agency has a long ISLL history and has recently launched project HydRON, which hopes to demonstrate the seamless extension of terrestrial fiber networks with "fiber in the sky" -- a terabit GEO/LEO optical network in space

But, that's the long run. For now, SpaceX is far ahead of the field in nearly every dimension, including ISLL development and deployment and it seems they are willing to subsidize expensive hardware like laser links and end-user terminals while focusing on relatively affluent markets like North America, Europe, and Australia in the short run.

Update 10/25/2020

Here are two more reasons why every successful LEO constellation operator will have inter-satellite laser links (ISLLs). Constellations with ISLLs will be able to offload traffic from the orbital network to terrestrial gateways on islands in the middle of an ocean or other low-utilization locations and the operators will not have to obtain gateway spectrum licenses in nations where the regulators balk. (Pointed out by @Megaconstellati and @trengriffin).

Update 9/30/2022

Starlink has activated the laser terminals on their version 1.5 polar orbit satellites. An early user reports that he is getting intermittent connectivity and high speeds (since he is the only one up there). Uptime should improve as more polar-orbit satellites are launched. I wonder about latency.

https://old.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/xr3ali/update_snowy_owl_helped_dishy_do_a_speed_test_at/

Low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet service developments for 2020

I posted reviews of important LEO-satellite Internet service developments during 2017, 2018 and 2019. I've updated those posts during the years and have 18 new posts for 2020. In 2020 we saw increased effort from China, OneWeb's bankruptcy and restructuring with new ownership and prospects, Amazon investng in space-related infrastructure, Telesat making steady progress, SpaceX making rapid progress and satellite and debris tracking and collision-avoidsnce service startups. The following are brief summaries of and links to the 2020 posts.

China will be a formidable satellite Internet service competitor (Jan 28)

This post describes three planned Chinese constellations, at least one of which will focus on broadband Internet service. Testing has begun and satellite mamufacturing capacity is being developed. They will serve both domestic and international users as part of China's global Digital Silk Road infrastructure program and are funded by both private and government investment.

LEO Broadband Will Create Millions of Jobs (Feb 13)

SpcaceX is recruiting hard-working, trustworthy people with common sense regardless of their education. They will train new-hires. This was commmon practice in the 1960s, when IBM had a formal two-year training program for new hires and the 1950s when the US government paid IBM to hire and train 3,000 programmers for the SAGE early-warning system.

Geely's LEO constellation for mobile vehicle connectivity (Mar 4)

The Geely Holding Group (GHG), a diversified, private Chinese conglomerate that is best known as an auto manufacturer, began construction of an intelligent satellite production and testing facility.

OneWeb is bankrupt -- who will buy their assets? (Mar 31)

OneWeb filed for bankruptcy and partnership of the British government and Bharti Global limited, an Indian telecommunication conglomerate serving parts of Asia and Africa, bid a billion dollars to acquire OneWeb's assets and restart the company.

SpaceX applies for a constellation re-design and announces beta test dates. (Apr 24)

SpaceX applied for a redesign of their constellation. If approved, the number of satellites would essentially be unchanged, but many would be at lower altitude and some will be moved to polar orbits enabling better coverage of far northern and southren latitudes.

Can SpaceX launch 30,000 second-generation Starlink satellites? Maybe. (Jun 8)

SpaceX applied for permission to launch 30,000 "second-generation" Starlink broadband Internet satellites. This post describes the proposed constellation and speculates on their ability to fund, manufacture and launch so many satellites and the feasibility of dealing with the space debris that the effort would create.

Rural broadband subsidy -- what's the rush? (Jun 13)

The Federal Communications Commission adopted procedures for Phase I of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction to award up to $16 billion in support over 10 years for the deployment of fixed broadband networks. The post describes the program and questions the categorization of satellite-based services as high-latency and the rush to allocate the funds.

Questions on the impact of trees on SpaceX Starlink (Jun 24)

This post raises a number of questions about the impact of trees and other obstructions as well as rain and snow on SpaceX Starlink service.

Amazon Aerospace and Satellite Solutions -- integrating satellites and terrestrial services (Jul 6)

Amazon announced Amazon Web Services Aerospace and Satellite Solutions to market and assist in the design and implementation of complex space/terrestrial systems. SpaceX has a substantial lead in launch and satellite deployment and Amazon has superior terrestrial resources and is building the organization and infrastructure to connect them to space.

OneWeb rises from the ashes -- maybe (Jul 22)

A consortium of the UK Government and Bharti Enterprises bought bankrupt OneWeb, a company that had raised $3.2 billion and had acquired valuable spectrum rights, for $1 billion. While they lag behind SpaceX and will need more capital, they have a number of advantages and I hope they succeed.

Bill Gates has not forgotten Teledesic (Sep 17)

Gates was a founding investor in Teledesic, the first attempt at LEO satellite Internet connectivity, but it failed. Today, he is a major investor in Kymeta, a leading supplier of electronically-steered antennas and Microsoft tested satellite access to their Azure cloud services. Microsoft does not want to miss out on space connectivity and services.

A new Chinese broadband satellite constellation (Oct 2)

China applied for specturm for a major new LEO satellite constellation with 12,992 satellites, roughly half of which will orbit at around 550 km and half at 1,145 km. SpaceX is off to a fast start and will be first to offer connectivity in America and Europe, OneWeb, through Bharti, has an edge in Asia and Africa and the Chinese companies have the same in Digital Silk Road nations.

SpaceX Starlink is on a roll (Oct 23)

SpaceX entered into a partnership with Microsoft to connect to their Azure cloud, giving them an answer to Project Kuiper's integration with Amazon Web Services and infrastructure. They also began offering beta service to a few individuals and organizations in the northern US and solicited applications for a public beta test and saw such strong demand that they requested an increase in the number of authorized US terminals. They have also registered 14 shell companies in 13 foreign nations and are deploying ground stations in north America and Europe.

SpaceX Starlink beta, phase two (Oct 28)

Starlink opened beta testing to the public. Applicants must be between 42 and 53 degrees north lattitude. The inital locations must be in the US and the price is $99 per month for the service $499 for a terminal.

Satellite and space debris tracking as a service (Nov 6)

LeoLabs and Northstar are offering satellite and debris tracking and collision avoidance as a service. LeoLabs is using terrestrial, phased-array radar and Northstar is tracking from satellites. Tracking and collision avoidance is a technical and political problem because it requires collaboration and data sharing among government and private satellite operators from all nations.

Starlink will be priced to be affordable (Nov 14)

SpaceX and others will have to charge less for connecivity in developing nations if their service is to be affordable and fully use the capacity of the constellation. Charging more in affluent markets will increase revenue and tend to reduce the "digital divide" -- good business and good karma.

OneWeb is out of bankruptcy, but is not out of the woods (Nov 25)

OneWeb has emerged from bankruptcy with Bharti and the UK governmenet having 42.2% ownership each. Some of their previous agreements are in place and some inevestors are still participating. They will have to raise more capital and are well behind SpaceX, but have acquired assets that had cost $3.3 billion and have marketing advantages in several areas. We need competition and I hope they succeed.

Telesat update -- proposal for a larger constellation, Canadian and DARPA contracts, a planned IPO and more (Dec 28) Telesat has submitted a plan calling for an increase in the number of satellites they launch to 1,671. While they have not yet launched production satellites, they have run many tests and demonstrations and have research contracts with the US and Canadian governments, Canadian government support, a steady stream of income from their 50-year old geostationary satellite business, ground stations in the north and plans for an IPO to finance the LEO constellation.

SpaceX Starlink beta and beyond

SpaceX began public beta testing of the Starlink Internet service in the northern US late last October. Since then, they have made many software updates based on the beta experience and have expanded the uninterrupted-coverage area by launching new satellites. By the end of the year, they had begun beta service in southern Canada and sent beta test invitations to a few UK users. The beta-eligibility area is expected to expand from the current 45-53 degree latitude this month or next.

SpaceX is actively seeking permission to operate in other nations. The legal ins-and-outs are confusing but it has foreign affiliates in at least 5 European countries and one of those, Starlink Holdings Netherlands B.V., has subsidiaries in 4-6 other European nations, including Germany and Greece, and in Argentina. SpaceX also has foreign affiliates in Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and South Africa and is in discussion with the Philippine government.

SpaceX will have to establish relationships with every nation they plan to operate in and these affiliate companies are an important asset. They also have contacts through their launch business, for example in Argentina, where they launched the SAOCOM satellites. This is obviously a fast-changing situation and you can watch the list grow and find more information by following this FAQ wiki and the Starlink discussion on Reddit.

The cost of the beta service in relatively affluent nations seems to be roughly the same. In the US, beta testers are paying $99 per month for the service and $499 for a terminal, including a tripod and WiFi router. In Canada, it's $649 CAD and $129 CAD per month and £439 and £89 per month for service in the UK. There are no data caps for now, but that might change if demand outstrips the evolving capacity. Elon Musk claims that users can easily install the terminal themselves -- just point it at the sky and plug it in -- and, while that may be true for users with a clear view of the sky, others will have the added expense of creating custom mounts to avoid trees and other obstacles.

What about the prices in less affluent nations like the Philippines, South Africa, Chile, Columbia, and Argentina?

The percent of the rural population that can afford the current beta prices is lower in those nations than in North America and Europe and the gap is even wider in many other nations. SpaceX will either charge less in poor nations in order to fully utilize capacity or focus on organizations like schools and clinics rather than individual consumers.

In addition to licenses, SpaceX will need ground stations with fiber connectivity to the regions they serve. The map shown here shows ground stations in North America and Australia, but it is somewhat out of date. They are also working on ground stations in France and New Zealand and, as with licenses, Reddit is a good place to follow current developments.

SpaceX has a clear lead over other would-be low-Earth orbit Internet service, providers. They have 874 working satellites in orbit, beta-testers in four nations, affiliates in others, and superior launch technology, but this is just the start of the game. Satellite broadband is a dynamic, multi-dimensional market; technology is changing rapidly and SpaceX has formidable competition. The situation reminds me of "IBM and the seven dwarfs" in the 1960s.