LEO vs. GEO-satellite; The battle of the titans, or not?

The fight between the mammoth and sabertoothed tiger

Over the coming years, a whole pack of new 3GPP-standardised LEO-sat operators will enter the market, hungry to take a big chunk from the business of the long-established satellite operators.

Although these new LEO-sat operators are still small and new most of them can benefit from very strong financial backing. This together with their large numbers and alliances with the terrestrial cellular industry pose a huge risk to the older, established satellite operators. The latter are more like mammoths: big, slow, and ill-suited for a big fight, while the new market entrants are like a ferocious pack of hungry sabretooth tigers: quick, agile, and well-equipped to kill and devour their prey.

Considering this imminent threat for the established satellite operators, it was not surprising to see the recent merger between Eutelsat and OneWeb. However, roles seem inversed here, of the mammoth eating the tiger, thereby taking out a potential threat and seeking to obtain some of the tiger’s useful characteristics. However, as is only to be expected, the genes of the mammoth will remain the same, and most valuable characteristics of the sabretooth tiger will disappear, resulting in a big loss for everybody.

So, instead of this merger a distribution relationship between OneWeb and the long-established satellite operators like Eutelsat, Intelsat, etc. would have been much more beneficial for all the stakeholders, placing all of them at the same level in the distribution chain as such creating a more level playing field for everybody.

The unlikely friendship between the mammoth and sabertoothed tiger

Such a partnership between the new and old satellite operators might appear - at first sight – unlikely. However, applying co-operation models, thereby preserving their unique characteristics and capabilities, will allow all parties to target and serve with the new LEO-sat services complementary segments of the market.

The new LEO-sat operators, in co-operation with their terrestrial operator partners, will bring commercial concepts to the satellite industry with value and effectiveness already proven in the cellular industry. As such, this will open up completely new markets for satellite services, thereby creating a bigger market for both the long-established and the new players in the field.

However, to establish successful partnerships between seemingly opposing parties, it will be necessary for the partners to develop:

· a different mind-set, transforming from fierce competition to close and fruitful co-operation

· a more diverse distribution structure, putting further attention to indirect sales

· a services platform suited for distribution partners, allowing to tailor services to the specific needs of their target segments

The planet Earth Connect NaaS-platform

To facilitate this co-operation between the long-established satellite operators and the new LEO-sat operators, Planet Earth Connect is working on the development of a LEO-sat agnostic Network as a Service (NaaS) platform. This platform will provide multi-connectivity for all the relevant LEO-sat systems and proprietary standards. As such, it will enable all satellite operators, and their distribution partners, to effectively target and address their client’s needs.

More information

Has this sparked your interest, and do you want to know more about this initiative? Can´t you wait to join us on this exciting journey into uncharted territories? Then hesitate no longer and contact us through the following email address or telephone number.

e.ottolini@planetearthconnect.com

+44 741 747 6709