I am not an internet connectivity tech. nor trained regarding satellites. You may wish to follow along with my thoughts below: is partly basic global connectivity info. I searched out & share, & partly my own personal opinions & conclusions. Your own thinking & conclusions are also necessary. Hopefully I can save you some time by sending some of your thoughts in helpful directions & towards useful questions.
Current major satellite connectivity providers based in (N.A.) North America? Starlink & Project Kuiper (I have already written about, including Starlink currently cornering so much of the cruise line market), plus 4 others of note. ViaSat & HughesNet (services include selling to home consumers); Telesat & OneWeb (selling services to business/entities). HughesNet, ViaSat & Starlink may currently be the most available to home consumers. HughesNet & ViaSat comments below are re home consumer offerings as opposed to their services to business.
Approx. how many satellites does each provider have? These are changing nos. & not really indicative of how much reach each company has, because the type of satellite makes differences in service details & the reach of each satellite. GEO = geostationary satellites, while LEO = low earth orbit satellites.
Starlink: currently, has >5,289 smaller (LEO) satellites with plans to have ~12,000 (& later: possibly 42,000).
HughesNet: appears to have several (GEO) satellites; these are larger & getting more advanced & powerful all the time.
ViaSat: similar to HughesNet, has several larger, powerful (GEO) satellites; & their next more advanced generation is in the works.
ViaSat:
– one opinion: they are “best for faster speeds & more data” in the USA (for home consumers);
– service area: “99% of the USA”; the company also has many international locations; &
– A recent satellite setback: tried to launch “a new GEO satellite [for] increased speeds & stability for all its users”; that launch did not succeed in 2023.
HughesNet:
– one opinion: they are “best for affordable plans/prices” in the USA (for home consumers);
– service area: continental U.S.A., Puerto Rico, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Mexico & Brazil; &
– “@ end of 2023, increased the speeds of all its plans” … thanks to its new satellite launched in 2023.
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OneWeb:
– reported as having 634 (LEO) satellite (“constellations”) as of July ’23;
– main focus has been internet solutions for businesses/government agencies/industry partners; &
– service area: OneWeb (like Starlink) has expressed “a vision & mission of delivering global connectivity”.
Telesat:
– appears to have launched ~2 dozen (GEO) satellites;
– as reported in July ’23: also has a (LEO) satellite fleet in the works (called “Lightspeed” project);
– Lightspeed project at one point aimed for ~300 (LEO) satellites. I read that it currently plans a lesser 188 satellites;
– focus has been aimed at “corporate, enterprise, military, & government use”;
– service area: network of existing satellites is already “providing services around the World”; &
– is a Canadian company.