Low earth satellites spur ‘connectivity revolution’ as businesses eye capabilities beyond broadband
After a global surge in deal-making for low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites, there is a ‘connectivity revolution’ sweeping the UK and the rest of the world, according to analysts.
LEO satellites are currently outgunning satellites positioned higher in Earth’s orbit due to their higher performance in climate monitoring, inter-vehicular networking and remote tracking.
“Venture capital deals in the LEO space witnessed a massive rise in 2021 with nearly 650 per cent year-on-year growth,” Kiran Raj, principal disruptive tech analyst at GlobalData said.
“An unprecedented level of this funding is flowing into the space economy, beyond satellite communications, into ventures to drive creative concepts and versatile use-cases.”
Satellite darling OneWeb, which specialises in LEO technology, is set to kick off its manufacturing this year, after hauling its development programme from the US to the UK in a bold, £2.2bn, move.
The taxpayer-backed company has today cut a deal with the Clarus Network to bolster OneWeb’s offering in health and safety, asset tracking, environmental monitoring, and crew scheduling – on top of its internet connectivity operations.
“LEO integrated with mobile technologies such as private 5G networks which we already deploy, will revolutionise how industries such as construction, energy and utilities can leverage data to transform all aspects of operations by improving health and safety, reducing production costs, and lowering carbon emissions,” Clarus managing director, Derek Phillips explained.
The so-called connectivity revolution has moved beyond broadband speeds and 5G access and has instead opened the doors to businesses being able to monitor farming land productivity, soil health, cargo shipments and how energy efficient their buildings are.
The push for businesses to be connected to their operations in other countries further afield, and in real time, is expected to spur on the LEO market and “set the stage for a wider deployment of LEOs infrastructure” across even more industries, according to Sanchari Chatterjee, a senior disruptive tech analyst at Global Data.