Low Earth Orbit Satellites Provide Continuous Enterprise Data Connectivity

Batir, Sean; Humann, Nicholas; Ortiz, Carmel; Bettinger, David; Heger, Susanne; Vorster, Bennie

A critical problem in global telecommunication is the drastic increase in data volume transmitted and received across the world. To address the need for scalable telecommunication solutions in light of growing data volume, the BMW Group and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite provider OneWeb pursue a proof of concept demo that assesses the potential of LEO networks for enterprise connectivity. Our results suggest that LEO satellite networks can enable the hybrid connectivity needed for continuous data transmission without interruption or loss of signal to enable the future of work and premium mobility. This is a proof of concept experiment to show throughput, latency, and key applications including handover to 4G and the use of a VPN while running cloud applications. Across three tests (i.e. entertainment and business productivity streaming services), the researchers demonstrate a 2-3x faster ping rate (ms), 4-5x faster download rates (Mb/s), and 30-60x (Mb/s) faster upload rates.