The role of satellite communications in broadband deployment€¦ · e The role of satellite...

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The role of satellite communications in broadband deployment

Information paper of the DLR Space Administration

Dr. Marc Hofmann for the Satellite Communications Department


Title: The role of satellite communications in broadband deployment Version: 3.4

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Document attributes

Title Die Rolle der Satellitenkommunikation beim Breitbandausbau

Posted in DLR Space Administration, Satellite Communications Department

Created by Dr. Marc Hofmann

Other authors Dr. Ralf Ewald, Dr. Frank Bensch, Dr. Roland Wattenbach

Date 22 / 08 / 2019

Version 3.4

Contact [email protected]

The authors thank the following persons for their support: Patrick Lewis, Dr. Sandro Scal-

ise, Prof. Andreas Knopp, Dr. Tomaso De Cola, Dr. Hermann Bischl, Dr. Florian David, Dr. Hendrik

Fischer, Andreas Kriechbaumer, Philipp Weber

Note

Taking into account current developments, this document aims to present the current

capabilities of satellite communications in the field of broadband communications. The

aim is to explain the possible role of satellite communications in broadband deploy-

ment. The document is continuously supplemented and expanded. The document is con-

tinuously supplemented and expanded.



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Table of contents

Document attributes ............................................................................................................. 2

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 4

1. 1. Total System cost ........................................................................................................ 5

1.1. Costs for connection via satellite ................................................................................ 5

1.1.1. Use of existing satellite systems ................................................................................ 5

1.1.2. New acquisition of a satellite system ........................................................................ 5

1.2. Cost of upgrading terrestrial infrastructure ................................................................. 6

2. Availability ....................................................................................................................... 7

2.1. Current satellite systems ............................................................................................ 7

2.2. Planned satellite systems and technologies ................................................................. 7

3. Latency ............................................................................................................................. 8

3.1. Geostationary satellite systems .................................................................................. 8

3.2. Circulating satellite systems (constellations) ................................................................ 9

3.3. Classification ............................................................................................................. 9

3.3.1. Voice calls ............................................................................................................. 10

3.3.2. Web-based control ................................................................................................ 10

3.3.3. Web surfing and video streaming .......................................................................... 11

4. Data rate ........................................................................................................................ 12

4.1. Broadband needs .................................................................................................... 12

4.2. Current market situation ......................................................................................... 12

4.3. Future development ................................................................................................ 13

4.4. Quality of Service .................................................................................................... 13

5. Competitiveness ............................................................................................................ 15

6. French final word .......................................................................................................... 16

7. Glossary ......................................................................................................................... 17

Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 18

List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................ 19



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Executive Summary

The step into digital society or gigabit society is perhaps the biggest social revolution since industriali-

zation. Politicians have therefore given high priority to broadband expansion as a precursor to digitiza-

tion.

To achieve its ambitious goals, the Federal Government relies exclusively on fiber-optic expansion. In

order to provide all people in Germany with fast internet, however, a mix of technologies is needed in

the short and long term. The expansion of a fiber optic network to the last budget is not feasible from

both the financial and the construction effort. Structurally weak regions are already in a poor starting

position despite support measures. The situation will worsen when, by 2020, the roll-out for the new

5G mobile communications standard begins.

The purpose of this information document is therefore to highlight the potential role of satellite com-

munications in broadband deployment and as part of the upcoming 5G network.

A big advantage of the satellite connection is the immediate availability. Geostationary satellite sys-

tems for broadband Internet connections already cover the entire German area. The hardware neces-

sary to gain acces to the internet is deployed within a few days. Therefore, satellite operators could

connect entire communities in Germany at short notice with up to 50 Mbit / s per connection - at a

monthly cost between 20 and 80 euros.

With new high-performance satellites in geostationary orbit, performance will continue to increase.

The low Earth orbit satellite constellations under development will further increase capacity and re-

duce latency to levels comparable to terrestrial technologies. So not only the latency-uncritical part of

the Internet traffic, which now accounts for 80% of the traffic, can be routed via the satellite, but in

the future also applications with stricter requirements for the latency.

In Germany, there are already some villages that are connected via satellite to the Internet - sometimes

as a bridge to the fiber optic expansion takes place. But these are island solutions. In France, on the

other hand, solutions are much more open to technology. The French state is investing heavily in the

development of satellite infrastructure and enabling collaborations between telecommunications

companies in the aerospace and terrestrial sectors: "(...) this satellite [Konnect VHTS] allows (...), even

the most remote Communities to provide a broadband Internet connection.“ [1].

With its excellent area coverage and secure point-to-point connections, the satellite already plays an

important role in the communication infrastructure and can complement terrestrial systems in a mean-

ingful way - both as complementary broadband technology and as a flexible supplement to the 5G

network. New satellites and satellite constellations with substantially higher data throughput can be

expected to reduce costs, which further increases the commercial attractiveness of these solutions.

Satellite communications will focus on broadband deployment in regions that are not economically

viable for terrestrial operators. In 5G, new technologies and satellite systems will complement the

terrestrial network very well.



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1. 1. Total System cost

1.1. Costs for connection via satellite

1.1.1. Use of existing satellite systems

Today, geostationary satellites are already in space, enabling connection to the Internet through-

out Germany. These can be used to connect entire communities to the Internet. The costs for the

connection arise only from the structure of the necessary on-site reception and transmission

technology, the so-called head-end station. This technique consists of:

One or more satellite dishes the size of a standard TV satellite dish

The associated signal processing electronics

The infrastructure to spread the signal in place1

A power supply is the only requirement for the construction of such a system. The cost of build-

ing a headend is about 25,000 euros. This includes installation and set-up as well as the hardware

for signal distribution in the location [2].

Monthly connection costs for the end user range between 20 euros and 80 euros. Examples of

currently available services and prices are listed in Table 1.

1.1.2. New acquisition of a satellite system

The new acquisition of a geostationary satellite generates very different costs, depending on the

payload of the satellite. As an example, the cost estimate for the mission proposal "SatCom

2025" is presented here, a proposal for a possible future large mission. This satellite would be

able to supply about two million households in Germany with a data rate of 50 Mbit / s and a

quality of service comparable to terrestrial services. Such a satellite system would incur a total

cost of around € 335 million. These costs would include the satellite, the launch and the

ground segment. Added to this would be the running cost of operating the satellite and provid-

ing the services.

The structure of a satellite constellation differs compared to a geostationary satellite. The individ-

ual satellites are smaller and thus cheaper. The number of satellites required to offer a service,

though, is higher. Depending on the altitude, a two to three digit number of satellites is neces-

sary to offer continuous service to a given region. Such a constellation allows, under certain con-

ditions, a global coverage. The costs for the ground segment are increasing due to the higher

complexity of the overall system. As an illustration, here's a rough cost estimate for a OneWeb

1 Often W-LAN is used for signal transmission. This technique is flexible and cost effective. But it is also possible to feed the signal into a locally existing cable network. It does not matter what kind the cable network is. An example: The municipality of Sayda-Ullersdorf in the county of Mittelsachsen has set up a local FTTH fiber-optic network on its own initiative. However, this was not linked to the infrastructure man-ager's core network. Autonomous expansion would not have been financially viable. The connection to the Internet takes place here via a satellite connection.



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style constellation. Let's assume a satellite costs 750,000 euros. With a number of 600 satellites,

there are 450 million euros in acquisition costs for the satellites.2 In addition, there are the

costs for the launches. An Ariane 5 can transport 20 satellites per rocket and costs about 150

million euros per launch. This results in 4.5 billion euros in total launch costs. The financial

outlay for a ground segment is difficult to estimate and is not calculated here.

An investment in infrastructure should be made on a private-economic basis building on the exist-

ing market. However, projects should also be done within federal and state funding programs, as

technological developments will allow service improvements.

1.2. Cost of upgrading terrestrial infrastructure

To allow for a better classification, the above-mentioned cost estimate will now be compared

with the costs of terrestrial broadband expansion. For this purpose, expansion costs and public

funding for the creation of a fiber optic network in all German households will be analyzed.

The federal government plans to provide 10 to 12 billion euros for the expansion of the gigabit

network. Broadband expansion projects can be subsidized by the state governments to up to

100% of the costs. Each municipality can receive a maximum of 30 million euros per project from

the federal government. The costs of planning and consulting can be funded with up to 50,000

euros [3, 4].

The actual costs of upgrading the terrestrial infrastructure can vary widely from case to case. With

installation costs of 30 - 80 Euro / meter, medium, double-digit millions can quickly be achieved

for an expansion project [5].3

The estimated cost of expansion for at least 50 Mbps in all households will vary, depending on

the technology mix used. Taking into account all available terrestrial technologies (including fiber

optics), the expansion requires an investment volume of approximately 20 billion euros. The re-

quired investment volume increases strongly, the smaller the proportion of households still to be

cared for. Supplying the last 5% of households accounts for 65% of the costs [6].

A supply of fiber optic households (FTTH) is estimated at 68.7 billion euros. Here, the share for

the last 5% of households is estimated at 40% of total costs [7].

2 The number of satellites necessary in a constellation depends strongly on the service it offers and its alti-tude. For constellations in LEO numbers can range from several dozen to more than 10,000. OneWebs constellation will consist of 648 satellites. 3 Example: Municipality Essenbach in Bavaria



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2. Availability

2.1. Current satellite systems

Geostationary satellite systems for broadband Internet connections already cover the entire Ger-

man area. Therefore, satellite operators can quickly connect places in Germany should the coun-

try or municipality so wish. The structure of a receiving system as described in Chapter Fehler!

Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden. takes, depending on the complexity, a few

days to two weeks [2, 8]. The connection for the end customer is then offered by the satellite

operator himself or by a contractor. Basically, a fast Internet connection can be realized at short

notice throughout Germany. Latency characteristics of geostationary satellites are described in

Chapter Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden..

2.2. Planned satellite systems and technologies

By 2021, additional geostationary satellites (e.g., HTS and flexible payloads) and constellations

(e.g., mPower from SES or OneWeb) will be operational. These will greatly enhance the perfor-

mance of satellite connections. Together with new technologies, very high data rates of up to 1

Gbit/s with reduced latency (see Chapter Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden wer-

den.) can be made available for all of Germany.4 Satellite operators predict that satellite tariffs

will approach those for terrestrial connectivity.

4 One example of such a novel technology is MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output). MIMO creates several connections between transmitter and receiver to multiply transmission capacity.



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3. Latency

The question of latency often plays a central role in the discussion of modern communication

applications.5 Here, therefore, you should get a particularly detailed look at it.

The latency as a "round trip time" (RTT) is composed of two components: two times the duration

of the signal between transmitter and receiver (back and forth), as well as the total processing

time of the signal.6 The processing time depends on various parameters of the technology used

and can vary greatly. Therefore, in the following the discussion will focus mainly on signal propa-

gation times. However, the processing time can make a significant contribution to latency – for

example, when the signal is routed through many intermediate stations from the sender to the

receiver.

Even with terrestrial, wired communication, the latency is composed of signal propagation time

and processing time. In a fiber, a signal has a propagation speed of 5 µs / km – a signal from Ber-

lin to Washington D.C. and back (cable length per direction approx. 8000 km) thus has a trans-

mission time of approx. 80 ms. With processing time one arrives at a total latency of approx. 95

ms [9].

The following sections show that only a small proportion of residential use cases have high laten-

cy requirements. Connecting communities to the Internet via satellite should not fail due to un-

founded latency requirements.

3.1. Geostationary satellite systems

ITU-T Recommendation G.114 specifies the one-way transmission time to a geostationary satellite

with 260 ms [10]. Consequently, the latency for a geostationary satellite is 520 ms plus signal

processing time. This latency is sufficient for most Web applications, such as streaming, data

transfer, or surfing, which account for over 80% of all Internet traffic (see also Chapter Fehler!

Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden.). However, it is sometimes too high for real-

time applications such as online telephony (Voice over IP, VoIP, vgl. Kapitel Fehler! Verweisquel-

le konnte nicht gefunden werden.) or online gaming.

However, over long distances, the geostationary satellite also has advantages over a cable-bound

transmission. Since a GEO- satellite "sees" one third of the Earth's surface, a signal with a maxi-

mum of two intermediate stations can reach the receiver from the transmitter. This minimizes

processing time as the latency of wired communication suffers from the large number of inter-

mediate stations over long distances.

5 Latency is defined as the time interval between transmission of a request and reception of the reply. 6 Processing time describes the time any hardware needs to interpret a signal and prepare a reply. With a real-life request, such as a web server migh receive from a web browser, many steps my be necessary be-fore a reply can be sent increasing the response time of the server. Since these steps depend on the specific type of request, they will be neglected here.



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3.2. Circulating satellite systems (constellations)

The signal transit time to / from the satellite depends on its altitude and is therefore variable in

satellite constellations. Figure 1 shows the latency of different satellite constellations as a function

of their altitude compared to the average latency times from the mobile area.

Figure 1: Signal transit time from the transmitter to the receiver in satellite communication depending on

the altitude. Points represent the signal transit time to specific satellite constellations (without processing

time). Color-coded areas indicate the latency range for data transmission in conventional mobile radio

technologies.

3.3. Classification

Figure 1 shows that the signal propagation time to LEO and MEO constellations is comparable to

the average measured latency of today's mobile technologies. These runtimes are independent of

the position of the communicating parties as long as they are in the footprint of the same satel-

lite.7 To bridge longer distances, the satellites must be able to communicate with each other.8

This is not the case with all constellations. So the first generation of the OneWeb satellite constel-

lation has no ISL. An example of a constellation with ISL is Iridium NEXT.

The latency of less than 1 ms envisaged for 5G is not achievable for communication via satellites.9

Satellites, though, can support terrestrial technology in reaching that high goal. Since even for

terrestrial communication, it must first be shown which technologies can deliver this latency and

7 The footprint of a satellite is the area illuminated by its signal. In the case of circling satellites, this is the part of the earth's surface from which the satellite is sufficiently high above the horizon. Geostationary satellites either have an individually shaped reflector which illuminates only predetermined areas. Or they have so-called spotbeams, where the illuminated area is still divided into a large number of smaller foot-prints. 8 Communication between satellites is realized via so called inter-satellite links (ISL). 9 1 ms signal delay corresponds to a distance of 300 km with signal propagation at light speed. At distanc-es > 300 km, latencies of 1 ms are physically impossible.



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which applications actually need it (e.g. car-to-car communication in autonomous driving). A ter-

restrial realization of latencies in the millisecond range is only possible by so-called edge compu-

ting.10 However, this solution is associated with high technical and financial effort and will there-

fore not be used at short notice or nationwide.

For some applications, higher latencies are acceptable, which are maintained by satellite constel-

lations. Many applications are completely latency-uncritical. These can therefore also be operated

by geostationary satellites. For some examples, their latency (in) dependency should be illustrated.

3.3.1. Voice calls

Reference values for acceptable Internet Telephony Delays (VoiP) are specified in ITU-T Recom-

mendation G.114 [10]. As a guideline for connections over distances of less than 5000 km 150

ms apply, for distances over 5000 km 225 - 300 ms. The indicated times are "mouth to ear", i.e.

including all processing times. This corresponds to signal delays of 100 - 150 ms. Delays of up to

about 70 ms are no problem for human perception.

The above mentioned ITU Recommendation also includes an upper limit of 400 ms for network

planning purposes. This may only be violated in defined exceptional situations.11 In ordert to not

be considered an exception from the outset, any application in network planning must stay below

400 ms latency.

Thus telephony applications via a geostationary satellite are generally acceptable – albeit they

need some getting used to The parallel operation of a data connection via satellite and a voice

connection via terrestrial copper line is in principle a feasible, although not very desirable from a

cost standpoint, solution for customers with high QoS demands on the voice connection.

3.3.2. Web-based control

The area of web-based control systems is very comprehensive. Therefore, depending on the spe-

cific application, latencies between 30 and 300 ms may be acceptable. The decisive factor here is

how fast the reaction to the transmitted signal must occur.

Real-time computer games (e.g., so-called first-person shooters) require fast reactions. Here, la-

tencies up to 200 ms are acceptable – for an optimal gaming experience latencies below 30 ms

are desired.

Exchange applications such as high frequency trading is a highly critical application in latency.

However, the local actions take place in the microsecond range (<40 μs), so that even the future

5G networks will not play a role there.

10 Edge computing is the relocation of computing capacity to the edge of the network, i. in the mobile base station. 11 Quote from Recommendation G.114: „While delays above 400 ms are unacceptable for general network planning purposes, it is recognized that in some exceptional cases this limit will be exceeded. An example of such an exception is an unavoidable double satellite hop for a hard-to-reach location [...].” [9].



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3.3.3. Web surfing and video streaming

For web surfing in general, the latency requirements are minimal. There, the download rate and

the response time of the called server are often the dominant factors. Only VPN tunnels for tele-

working can only be used to a limited extent if the latency times are too high. However, proce-

dures for the intelligent use of combined terrestrial and satellite connections are already being

developed.

In the case of pure data transmission, the latency is completely negligible, e.g. for video stream-

ing and file sharing. This application is of particular importance, as in 2016 already 81% of all

internet traffic by private users fell into this category. For the year 2021, an increase to 85% is

expected. The voice transmission consumes another 10% of the traffic [11].

This implies, conversely, that only a small part of max. 5% of the use cases have high latency re-

quirements. A connection of communities to the Internet via satellite should therefore not be

avoided due to unnecessarily high latency requirements.

If unnecessarily high demands are placed on the entire future network, there is a risk that the

networks will be over-dimensioned and thus disproportionately increase the costs. In such cases,

private sector expansion will be confined to the most profitable regions – unterversorgte Re-

gionen blieben abgehängt. underserved regions will be left behind. A dogmatic adherence to

latency requirements is therefore meets neither the applications nor the users requirements. It

stands in the way of the goal of the fastest possible nationwide broadband coverage.



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4. Data rate

The recent goal of the Federal Government is to provide an Internet connection with 50 Mbit / s

for each citizen in 2018 was abandoned in favor of realizing 1 Gbit / s until 2025 in order to

make the "gigabit society" a reality. At European level, targets have been set to provide all

households with at least 30 Mbps and 50% of households with 100 Mbps by 2020 [12].

At the end of 2018, only about 87% of German households had access to wire-bound broad-

band Internet at more than 50 Mbps [13].12 Full coverage by the end of 2018 was thus not real-

ized.

Connection via satellite can help to close part of this supply gap.

4.1. Broadband needs

First, it should be classified, which bandwidths are necessary and sufficient for which user applica-

tions.

or normal web surfing usually 2 Mbit / s are sufficient.13 However, since website operators in-

creasingly rely on data-intensive network appearances, this also corresponds to the acceptable

lower limit. From 10 Mbit / s you can surf without problems and even stream HD content. From

20 Mbit / s you reach the limit of what a web browser can calculate in real time on an average

computer. This also makes it possible to play UHD content smoothly. Bandwidths over 20 Mbit / s

are only noticeable when transferring large amounts of data. They are therefore mainly interest-

ing for business users or families with increased streaming demand.

4.2. Current market situation

In the area of consumer satellite Internet, the following data rates are currently common for end

users: download 20 - 50 Mbit / s, upload 2 - 6 Mbit / s. Some vendors have special rates for busi-

ness customers at higher speeds and higher priorities. With satellite Internet, as with mobile

communications, a limitation of the data volume is common (see also chapter 4.4). With Internet

via satellite you pay 1 - 3 € per gigabyte data volume. It is thus partially cheaper than Internet via

mobile, where the gigabyte prices range from 2 to 15 euros [14].

Details on exemplary retail offerings are listed in Table 1 aufgelistet. In some cases, no telephony

services are included and have to be booked for a fee.

12 It should be noted that the transmission speed actually achieved is not always at the contractually agreed download rates. On average, only 12% of users reach the full speed of their connection, while around 28% do not even receive half the contracted bandwidth [18]. 13 2 Mbit / s is the threshold value for „basic broadband“ as defined by the EU.



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Provider Download

[Mbit/s]

Upload

[Mbit/s]

Data volume

[GB]

Price

[Euro/Month]

Filiago (filiago.de) 50

30

2

2

Unlimited

20

69,95

24,95

Sat Internet Services

(satinternet.com)

50

30

6

6

Unlimited

Unlimited

59,90

39,90

SkyDSL (skydsl.eu) 50

10

6

1

Unlimited

10

34,90

19,90

Orbitcom (orbitcom.de) 20

20

2

2

Unlimited

15 (free 0h-6h)

77,90

36,90

EUSANET (eusanet.de) 50

50

6

5

Unlimited

10

59,90

39,90

Table 1: Exemplary tariffs for Internet via satellite for consumers (retrieved 01. 80.2019). In tariffs marked

(free 0h-6h) data consumption during the stated times is not counted towards the volume of data made

available.

4.3. Future development

All satellite operators want to bring new, more powerful satellites into space in the near future.

There are innovations in geostationary satellites as well as in circulating systems (constellations).

In geostationary orbit so-called High Throughput (HTS) and Very High Throughput Satellites

(VHTS) are launched. These have, compared to older satellites, a significantly higher total data

throughput of up to 1000 Gbit / s. They are advertised by the operators at a speed of 100 Mbps

for the end user. However, no public information is available on the number of potential end

users of such a satellite.

New (mega) constellations in low (LEO) and medium (MEO) Earth orbit are expected to deliver

even higher data rates. The constellation O3b mPower is to deliver several Tbit/s of throughput

globally after the start from 2021 onwards.

4.4. Quality of Service

The connection of end users to the Internet via satellite, as well as terrestrial connection, is sub-

ject to certain restrictions. Each satellite and each cable can only carry a maximum total data rate.

Once this limit has been reached, the data rate for the individual subscriber drops. Thus, in times

of high demand (in the evening and at the weekend), the download speeds actually achieved

drop in all connection technologies, up to 50% of the contractually agreed maximum speed.14

How this condition is managed is the decision of each company.

14 The telecommunications companies are legally obliged to provide at least 50% of the contractually guar-anteed download speed at any time.



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Many providers of satellite Internet moderate the use of access over data volume limits. If certain

limits for downloaded data volumes are exceeded, these providers will reduce the speed of the

connection until the end of the current accounting period (typically one month). Often, in return,

there are time windows, usually at night, in which the data consumption is not counted towards

the volume of data made available. Furthermore, most companies also offer tariffs without vol-

ume restrictions (flatrates).

Suppliers of satellite internet explicitly point out this best effort method (limited available total

bandwidth) or a fair use policy (reduction of the speed if the consumption is too high). They often

offer a higher-priced tariff to business customers, ensuring an agreed quality of service.



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5. Competitiveness

With its full area coverage and secure point-to-point connections, the satellite is already making

an important contribution to the communication infrastructure – and complementing terrestrial

systems in a meaningful way.

Over the next few years, new satellites and constellations will further increase the capabilities and

capacity of satellite Internet providers. This will be accompanied by cost and thus price reductions.

This increases the attractiveness of the offers and the main points of criticism are weakened. Sat-

ellite communication will become more important in the overall picture of the communication

infrastructure.

The potential of satellite communications is currently not fully exploited. The aim is for them to

grow into an (also politically) accepted complementary technology in the field of broadband con-

nections. In particular, the focus will be on the development of "white spots" on the map of

broadband connections. But also backup systems, e.g. for corporate locations, and the integra-

tion into the upcoming mobile infrastructure are targeted areas of application.



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6. French final word

At the „Conference nationale des Territoires“ (17.07.2017) French President Emmanuel Macron

explained the new „Plan France Très Haut Débit“ (France High Speed Broadband Plan) for France.

In it, he announces that he intends to achieve the full supply of all French households with fast or

very fast Internet (> 30 Mbit / s, according to the definition of the European Commission) not in

2022 but in 2020.

The declared French target is to provide 80% of all households with a fiber optic connection

(FTTH) and connect the remaining 20% via complementary supply routes. These fiber optic alter-

natives also explicitly include satellite connectivity.

To this end, France has invested so far € 70 million in technology development in the National

Space Program and the Future Investment Program (PIA) in the development of a new VHTS

(„ThD-SAT“)to connect underserved areas to the Internet [15, 16]. At the same time, through an

intervention of the French government, a satellite was ordered from Thales Alenia Space by

French operator Eutelsat, in collaboration with the telecommunications company Orange. Called

Konnect VHTS, this satellite will multiply data capacity across France and Europe. It has a total

capacity of 500 Gbit / s and should be put into service in 2021 [17].

During the publication of the above mentioned collaboration Delphine Gény-Stephann, Secretary

of State at the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, said that the launch of the Konnect

VHTS satellite will make it possible to offer broadband Internet access to the most remote com-

munities in France15 [1].

15 „The launch of this satellite will allow to offer in 2021 a very high speed internet offer for the most re-mote-living citizens of our territory.“ („La mise en orbite de ce satellite permettra de proposer en 2021 une offre d’internet fixe très haut débit pour les habitations les plus isolées de notre territoire.“)



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7. Glossary

Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)

A satellite that is 35,786 km above the Earth is always at the same (stationary) position in the sky

when viewed from the surface. Satellites in the GEO are known in their capacity to broadcast

television and radio programs.

Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)

Satellites with altitudes between 2,000 and 35,786 km are in the middle Earth orbit. They have

cycle times between about two and 24 hours. Well-known satellite systems in the MEO are GNSS

such as GPS and Galileo and the O3b constellation under construction by SES.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

Satellites with altitudes below 2,000 km are in low earth orbit. Well-known satellite systems in

the LEO are the Iridium communication satellites and the satellite constellation of the company

OneWeb.

High-Elliptic Orbit (HEO)

If you want to cover areas with high latitude by satellite, you can achieve this via high-elliptical

orbits. These are polar orbits with a large perigee to apogee ratio. In this way, the satellite spends

much of its orbit over one pole while minimizing the time over the other pole.

Satellite constellations

An arrangement of multiple satellites used to provide a particular service (e.g., navigation or

communication). These can be in any orbits.

HTS/VHTS (High throughput satellite / Very high throughput satellite)

Novel satellite systems, which allow significantly higher data rates with the same spectrum usage

than in the past.

FTTC (Fibre to the curb)

Fiber optic cable to the distribution box on the road (DSLAM).

FTTB (Fibre to the building)

Fiber optic cable to the house distributor.

FTTH (Fibre to the home)

Fiber optic cable to the socket in the apartment.

ITU (International Communication Union)

International Telecommunication Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations, dealing with

frequency coordination.



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Bibliography

[1] Actu.fr mit einem Zitat von Delphine Gény-Stephann, Staatssekretärin im Ministerium für

Wirtschaft und Finanzen, 13.05.2018. [Online]. Available:

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cest-toulouse-rafle-mise_16691636.html. [Zugriff am 30.10.2018].

[2] SES Firmenpräsentation, 2018.

[3] Koalitionsvertrag der Bundesregierung 2018, Z 352 ff.

[4] Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur, Richtlinie "Förderung zur

Unterstützung des Breitbandausbaus in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland", vom 22.10.2015,

1. Novelle vom 03.07.2018.

[5] Breitband.NRW im Auftrag des Ministeriums für Wirtschaft, Energie, Industrie, Mittelstand

und Handwerk NR, "Alternative Verlegemethoden für den Glasfaserausbau - Hinweise für

die Praxis", 20.01.2017, 1. Auflag.

[6] TÜV Rheinland im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie, "Szenarien

und Kosten für eine kosteneffiziente flächendeckende Versorgung der bislang noch nicht mit

mindestens 50 Mbit/s versorgten Regionen", 2013.

[7] TÜV Rheinland Consulting, „Schnelles Internet in Deutschland bis 2018 – wie kann dieses

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[11] Cisco Whitepaper, "The Zettabyte Era: Trends and Analysis", 06/2017.

[12] Mitteilung der EU Kommission, "Konnektivität für einen wettbewerbsfähigen digitalen

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[17] Pressemitteilung von Eutelsat, "Eutelsat orders KONNECT VHTS, a new-generation satellite to

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List of abbreviations

5

5G ........................................................................ 5th generation of cellular network technology

F

FTTB ............................................................................................................. Fibre to the building

FTTC ................................................................................................................. Fibre to the curb

FTTH ................................................................................................................Fibre to the home

G

Gbit/s ............................................................................................................. Gigabit per Second

GEO ..................................................................................................... Geostationary Earth Orbit

H

HTS ............................................... High Throughput Satellite (Satellit mit hohem Datendurchsatz)

I

ISL .................................................................................................................... Inter Satellite Link

ITU .................................................................................. International Telecommunication Union

L

LEO ..................................................................................................................... Low Earth Orbit

M

MIMO .......................................................................................... Multiple Input Multiple Output

P

PIA ........................................ Programme d'investissements d'avenir (Future Investment Program)

Q

QoS ................................................................................................................. Quality of Service

R

RTT ............................................................ Round Trip Time (Delay between request and answer)

T

Tbit/s .............................................................................................................. Terabit per Second

ThD .................................................................................................. Très Haut Débit (Broadband)

V

VHTS ............................................................................................ Very High Throughput Satellite

VoIP ........................................................................................................................ Voice Over IP

VPN ......................................................................................................... Virtual Private Network

W

W-LAN ............................................................................................ Wireless Local Area Network

Projektname

Titel: Projektname Version: 0.0

Datum: 00.00.00 Erstellt von: Name

Geprüft von: Name Freigabe von: Name

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