Jeff Bezos's Iridium and AWS have teamed up to develop a global satellite Internet project for IoT
SpaceX launch vehicle is ready to go into space with a cargo on board - Iridium satellites
It seems that the players in the not yet formed global satellite Internet market have become even more. In addition to OneWeb and SpaceX ( plus Roscosmos), Iridium and Amazon web Services are planning to create their own global network satellite infrastructure.
This became known at the end of last week. True, the objectives of the project are somewhat specific. The network itself is being developed to expand the capabilities of devices and services of the Internet of things. According to the authors of the project, now the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Earth have access to network services, but this still does not apply to all regions.
Accordingly, it will be possible to provide access to Amazon services to enterprises in those areas of the planet where such an opportunity does not yet exist. The project, which is now being implemented by partners, is still designed mostly for corporate users, not individuals.
Ultimately, the CloudConnect network, which is planned to be deployed until 2019, will enable everyone who wants to connect to Amazon Web Services. The service provider will be Iridium. The CloudConnect network will allow you to focus on the technological aspects that the cellular networks are not able to solve.
Now Amazon has already begun recruitment for its new project. Employees of the company, hired now, will work on the creation of "space networks". Interestingly, immediately after the announcement of the project, Iridium shares rose in price by 7.1%.
AWS partner decided to choose a company for the reason that it has almost completed the creation of its own satellite network consisting of 75 vehicles orbiting the Earth. SpaceX, which has a long-term contract with Iridium, is launching satellites into orbit. This year there will be the last scheduled launch of the SpaceX launch vehicle, which, having sent another group of satellites into orbit, will complete the formation of the network.
Iridium NEXT will provide high-speed Internet access for residents of most regions of the Earth (of course, not for free). In addition, the company's satellites will be able to constantly monitor the movement of aircraft, so it is also about the emergence of a global tracking system for passenger aircraft, the coverage of which is much greater than that of any other tracking system that is currently operating.
As for the AWS and Iridium project, it will allow the majority of cloud applications to “communicate in one language”. The point is that many IoT platforms are created according to their own standards of developers, and the IoT market is rather fragmented, which complicates the integration of various solutions. If AWS is available to everyone, then the protocols, standards and rules of work will be the same for all who are interested in unifying their own solutions.
As for other global projects, SpaceX is already engaged in launching test satellites, which should form a large network of 4425 (or even more) elements in Earth orbit. This, by the way, is three times more than the number of satellites that are working now. The company has its own launch vehicles, which greatly simplifies the project implementation task. Other companies are more difficult, since carriers have to be "chartered", and this is expensive and not very fast - after all, any launch vehicle has its own schedule, many are busy in other projects.
OneWeb, a SpaceX competitor, plans to launchon the orbit of our planet about 900 satellites. Launches are planned with the help of Soyuz, LauncherOne (Virgin Orbit), New Glenn (Blue Origin) missiles. The project implementation consists of three main stages. For the first stage, the total capacity of the satellite network will be 7 terabits, the second - 120 terabits and the third - 1000 terabits.
It is going to create a global network and Roscosmos, but so far it is unclear how this project will be implemented. The cost of the Sphere project is 300 billion rubles, while there are practically no investors. To finance the whole project from the budget is impossible - it is too expensive turned "Sphere". Recently it became known that VEB Bank, which had previously been considered as one of the sources of private financing, announced a desire to withdraw from the project.