For years, Ukrainian officials have suggested that they are Work on Starlink alternatives. But the truth is that there are not many options on the table.
The most discussed is Oneweb, a satellite communications network belonging to Eutelsat, a satellite operator in France. Like Starlink, this network is based on small grounds on the ground, and its total constellation includes around 630 satellites on low land, which offer very high speed connectivity and lower latency than satellites that orbit higher altitudes.
Joanna Darlington, spokesperson for Eutelsat, said Oneweb offers European-scale coverage and that technology is already deployed in Ukraine to some extent, although she has refused to share the details. However, there are more than 40,000 starlink terminals in Ukraine, Depending on reportsThe replacement of this network with oneweb alternatives cannot therefore be carried out overnight. “It’s possible but it’s not an instant coffee,” says Darlington. (The company claims that the Oneweb coverage of Eutelsat in Europe is already competing on Starlink.)
While the Starlink terminals are manufactured by SpaceX, the Oneweb terminals are provided by third -party companies. “We have stocks of terminals that we could deploy,” said Darlington, even if she adds: “Someone has to pay for that”.
Poland And UsaidAmong other things, has helped finance the use by Ukraine of the Starlink network to date. Eutelsat is currently in talks with the European Union On a possible increase in Oneweb in Ukraine.
Although Oneweb is promising, it is difficult to see how Ukrainians, in particular under the conditions of the battlefield, could count in the same way as Starlink, explains Barry Evans, professor of engineering of information systems at the University of Surrey.
“We have one [OneWeb terminal] At university, and it is a fairly complicated process in terms of connection and oddity, “he says. Terminals tend to be larger than those of Starlink and potentially more difficult to move quickly to a conflict area, he adds, suggesting that Oneweb terminals could be better deployed to fixed locations on buildings, for example.
“The other challenge is that the terminals for Oneweb cost thousands of dollars instead of hundreds of dollars [for Starlink]Said Quilty. And yet, Oneweb is currently the “only option” easily accessible to Ukraine as an alternative, he adds.
This could possibly change. Amazon Kuiper’s project, a Starlink rival, could launch its first satellites later this year. Finally, Project Kuiper will have more than 3,000 satellites. But, Note Evans, Amazon is also an American company. If the United States government is pressure on national companies to move away from Ukraine, the Kuiper project may not be very useful in the short term.
The European Union works on His own constellation of communication satellitescalled iris2. But they may not become operational before 2030 and will only include 300 medium and low orbit satellites. The size of a satellite constellation affects the connection speeds and the cover it offers. Starlink, for example, has already more than 7,000 orbit satellites, although the network may need about 10,000 in total Before its coverage really became global. SpaceX suggested that it could be launched more than 40,000 satellitesIf the authorization to do so by the UN International Telecommunications Syndicate.
Andrew Cavalier, analyst of space technology at Abi Research, a technological intelligence company, says that it is skeptical that SpaceX prevents Ukrainians from accessing Starlink, but current doubts about SpaceX’s reliability are a “alarm clock” for countries using the service, which can now invest more and more in the development of their own satellite communication networks. Evans agrees. “The Ukrainian situation has highlighted him a little,” he says. “People are very worried about the domination that Starlink has obtained.”
In Ukraine, Ada Wordsworth says that she is not aware of any alternative that could easily replace Starlink.
Russia apparently rehabilitated recently, it says that a general feeling of despair settles among the inhabitants who have returned home in the villages near the front line. Many have nowhere to go.
When asked what she would say to Elon Musk, she replied: “It is not a game. It is not a decision to make bitterness or spite, or a feeling of distorted power. It is the life of real people. »»
