For years, Ukrainian officials suggested that they were Work on Starlink alternatives. But the truth is that there are not many options on the table.
Oneweb, a satellite communication network belonging to Eutelsat, a satellite operator in France is most often discussed. Like Starlink, this network is based on miniature, ground dates, and its total constellation covers about 630 low soil satellites, which offer very high connectivity and lower delay than satellites that are orbited at higher heights.
Joanna Darlington, spokeswoman of Eutelsat, claims that OneWeb offers the range of all of Europe and that this technology is already to some extent distributed in Ukraine, although it refused to share details. Despite this, there are over 40,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine, According to reportsSo, replacing this network with Oneweb alternatives, you can’t do it overnight. “It’s possible, but it’s not soluble coffee,” says Darlington. (The company claims that the scope of oneweb eutelsat in Europe already rivals Starlink.)
While the Starlink terminals are made by SpaceX, the ONEWEB terminals are delivered by external companies. “We have reserves of terminals that we could implement,” emphasizes Darlington, although he adds: “Someone must pay for it.”
Poland AND USAIDAmong other things, they have helped to finance the employ of Starlink by Ukraine. Eutelsat is now In conversations with the European Union over possible scaling of Oneweb in Ukraine.
Although Oneweb has a promise, it is arduous to see how Ukrainians, especially in conditions on the battlefield, can rely on him in the same way as Starlink, says Barry Evans, professor of IT system engineering at the University of Surrey.
“We have one [OneWeb terminal] at the university, and this is a fairly complicated process in terms of actual connection and on board, “he says. He adds that the terminals are more volumes than Starlink and potentially more arduous to move in the conflict zone, suggesting that the ONEWEB terminals may be better placed in constant locations in buildings.
“The second challenge is the terminals for Oneweb cost thousands of dollars instead of hundreds of dollars [for Starlink]- says Quilty. And yet Oneweb is currently the “only option” easily available to Ukraine as an alternative, he adds.
It can finally change. Amazon Kiiper project, rival to Starlink, can launch his first satellites this year. Ultimately, the Kiiper project will have Over 3000 satellites. But, Evans notes, Amazon is also an American company. If the US government is putting pressure on domestic companies to leave Ukraine, the Kiiper project may not be too useful in the near future.
The European Union is working on own constellation of communication satellitescalled iris2. But they may not work only in 2030 and will contain only about 300 satellites with medium and low orbit. The size of the satellite constellation affects the connection speed and coverage it offers. For example, Starlink already has Over 7,000 orbit satellites, although the network may need A total of about 10,000 Before its range becomes really global. Spacex suggested that he could start Over 40,000 satellitesIf it was granted permission for the UN International Telecommunications Association.
Andrew Cavalier, a Space Tech analyst from ABI Research, an intellectual company, says that it is skeptical, that SpaceX would block the Ukrainians access to Starlink, but the current doubts related to the reliability of SpaceX are “waking up” for countries, using the service, which can now invest more and more often in the development of their own, slide, satellite communication networks. Evans agrees. “Ukrainian situation a bit in the foreground,” he says. “People are very worried about the dominance of Starlink.”
In Ukraine, Ada Wordsworth claims that she is not aware of any alternative that could easily take the place of Starlink.
When Russia is apparently known recently, it says that among the inhabitants who returned to the villages near the front line, there is a general sense of hopelessness. Many have nowhere to go.
Asked what she said to Elon Musk, she replies: “This is not a game. This is not a decision that can be made out of bitterness, because of malice or some distorted sense of power. This is the lives of real people. “