Berlin/Bonn, 23.08.2021 Providers such as the US aerospace company SpaceX, the British company Oneweb and the retail giant Amazon want to use satellite internet to provide broadband internet access worldwide in the future. The Internet from space is also increasingly coming to the fore in the political debate. A study commissioned by the German Broadband Communications Association (BREKO) from the Technical University of Central Hesse has now examined the performance of satellite internet based on the Starlink concept. The results provide information on the extent to which it represents an alternative to fiber optic networks to buildings and homes in Germany.

What was difficult to imagine just a few years ago has now also become a reality in Germany: In the future, broadband internet access will be made available worldwide via satellite networks such as Starlink. Beta tests have been running in selected regions of Germany since March 2021. According to Starlink, 69,000 people were using the service in mid-2021. Elon Musk’s company expects to have up to half a million customers worldwide by mid-2022. The Internet from space is also becoming more prominent in the political debate in Germany. At the beginning of June 2021, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), which is responsible for the expansion of digital infrastructure, announced a so-called “digitization subsidy” in the form of funding for internet connections in individual and peripheral locations via a non-wired internet connection, such as via satellite.

The results of the BREKO market analysis21 recently showed that the demands on the performance of the digital infrastructure are growing. According to this analysis, the average fixed network data volume transmitted per connection and month increased by more than 40% in the past year alone. This trend is also reflected in the continuing rise in demand for high-bit-rate connections. A third of all customers already booked internet connections with a data rate of over 100 Mbit/s in 2020. More than one million customers have already opted for connections with data rates of 1 Gbit/s or more. Against the background of these increasing demands, the question arises as to the performance of internet access via satellite. To what extent can satellite internet be an alternative to fiber optic networks to buildings (FTTB) and homes (FTTH) in Germany?

A scientific study has now answered these questions for the first time. Prof. Dr. Kristof Obermann from the Technical University of Central Hesse was commissioned by BREKO to examine the technical performance of satellite-based broadband networks and compare it with the performance of fiber optic connections. The study is based on the parameters of the Starlink concept.

The key findings of the study at a glance:

The Starlink satellite network cannot achieve nationwide coverage of German households with bit rates of at least 100 Mbit/s for downloads.
Even with very optimistic assumptions, a maximum of 1.3 million 100 Mbit/s connections or 130,000 1 Gbit/s connections can be realized in Germany via the Starlink network. The upstream bit rates correspond to a maximum of 30 to 40 percent of the downstream bit rates.
Satellite Internet is not an alternative to fiber optic connections to buildings and homes. With fibre optic connections, bit rates of 1 Gbit/s, 10 Gbit/s and in future even higher bit rates (100 Gbit/s, 400 Gbit/s) can be achieved both upstream and downstream.
Despite the disadvantages compared to fiber optic networks, the Starlink network is a technologically very interesting network that appears to be very well suited for the following application scenarios, among others: Worldwide and comprehensive coverage of areas with low population density, for example rural areas, oceans, the Arctic, Antarctica, deserts, steppes, pastures, mountains and, if a line of sight is possible, forests.
The Starlink network can also make an important contribution in Germany as a supplement to existing broadband technologies, providing households with basic coverage and digital participation that would otherwise not be able to be developed either commercially or with the use of state subsidies in the coming years.
The strength of the Starlink network lies less in the capacity provided and more in the global networking of a large number of end devices with moderate bit rates but low latency over sufficiently large distances. The economic, political and military importance of the satellite internet should therefore not be underestimated.
When considering the results of the study, it should be noted that it is not yet possible to predict whether and when Starlink will reach its final expansion target of almost 42,000 satellites in space. This will depend, among other things, on the availability and approval of the corresponding orbits and frequencies for the data and telemetry connections. Nevertheless, the study is based on the assumption that it will be possible to launch the planned almost 42,000 satellites into space.

“The results of the study underline that there is no alternative to fiber optics as a digital infrastructure. The expansion of fibre optics must therefore continue to have the highest political priority in order to create a future-proof and sustainable basis for Germany’s digitalization. At the same time, the study provides important insights into what satellite internet can achieve. The internet from space can be used as a useful bridging technology to enable digital participation for citizens in very rural and particularly sparsely populated areas. In the event of a disaster, such as the recent flood disaster in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, satellite internet can also help quickly to ensure internet connectivity. However, despite all the euphoria about Starlink, it is also important to keep an eye on the issue of sustainability. It is still unclear what impact the many thousands of planned satellites will have and what will happen to them once they are operational,” says BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers.

Prof. Dr. Kristof Obermann from the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen explains: “Satellite internet such as Starlink does not pose a threat to the business model of telecommunications companies. The strength of such networks lies less in the capacity provided and more in the global networking of a large number of end devices with moderate bit rates but low latency over sufficiently large distances. The economic, political and military significance of the satellite internet should therefore not be underestimated.”

The complete study by the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen on behalf of the Bundesverband Breitbandkommunikation e. V. (BREKO) can be found HERE.