How Lynk works, the carrier that linked mobile devices directly to satellites

Is this just a theory or is there already a confirmation of the efficiency?


The technology has already been tested on a small scale – it’s not just a theory, it really works. The company, headquartered in the United States, recently sent its own communications satellite into Earth orbit. It is noteworthy that this was done using a Falcon 9 rocket.

The satellite successfully entered orbit and began work, after which a series of tests was launched. It turned out to be successful – test phones (ordinary smartphones) were able to connect to a satellite in orbit without any problems. It is worth noting that the device is in a low Earth orbit, so the ground system can communicate with it without any problems. In this case, the satellite plays the role of a base station, although, of course, somewhat specific.

During the tests, the device flew over the territories of the United States, Great Britain and the Bahamas. Test participants, who were volunteers, easily connected to the new network and were able to test it.

How it works


The satellite is the base station to which ground devices are connected. During the connection, smartphones send a request with a subscriber ID. If the identifier matches, the device is authenticated in the system and it becomes possible to use the connection. It is worth noting that satellites successfully distinguish between “own” and “foreign” devices, so that the technology does not interact with other standards. As far as you can understand, there are no problems in this regard.

The developers stated that the Lynk communication procedure is universal – no specific terminals are needed to connect to the network. Almost any smartphone can work with a satellite base station. You also need to remember that there is only one satellite in orbit, so you can forget about high throughput. But with an increase in the number of vehicles in orbit, this problem will be solved. Another appears – space debris, but it seems to be gradually being solved, about which we have already written.

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Problems that had to be solved

There were, I suppose, a lot of them. The company recently described some of the nuances of its technology.

In order to achieve a stable connection with the satellite, the company’s engineers had to find a way to avoid interference with other phones. How exactly this was done is not yet reported, but soon the company will reveal more details about its technologies.

In addition, since the base station satellite is moving very quickly, the engineers needed to compensate for the Doppler effect. This is necessary so that the phone can distinguish the satellite, considering it a base station. Modern technologies also solve the problem of the Doppler effect, but in the case of working with satellites, it becomes more complicated.

Working with regulators. This is no longer a technical problem, but a legal one. Representatives of the company said that for now they will take the path of least resistance, developing their network in countries with weak regulation. Well, after the efficiency and reliability of the technology has been proven, it is possible that Lynk will start working in its homeland, i.e. in the USA.

Who is it all for


As mentioned above, for residents of remote regions where there is no cellular infrastructure, or it is very weak. Since at the moment the company does not have a constellation of satellites in orbit, subscribers will be able to use only SMS and call emergency services if necessary. But by 2025, the company plans to form a constellation of satellites and begin providing high-speed Internet access services.

The company is currently working on obtaining a license from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in order to obtain permission to deploy a constellation of 5.1 thousand satellites.

At the moment, according to company representatives, about 750 million smartphone users are experiencing difficulties with communication. They have to get to places where there is a network, but this is far from always convenient. Therefore, a direct connection to the satellite is ideal in this case.

Agreements have already been signed with operators such as Aliv (Bahamas) and Telecel Centrafique (Central African Republic, CAR). Work with subscribers will begin next year.

Not Lynk alone

There are also other technologies that make it possible to provide remote regions with communications. Recently it became known about the company Cambium Networks, which received a license from Facebook to use

https://habr.com/ru/company/selectel/blog/581156/image

Terragraph in their solutions. The development of Facebook saves the company from the need to lay underground infrastructure – instead, data transmission is carried out “over the air.”

The company uses a mesh mesh topology instead of cables. Wireless network elements, the size of which does not exceed several tens of centimeters, are placed on poles and roofs. They provide local people with communication and interact with each other. Due to the ability to lay alternative connections between nodes, the throughput remains stable regardless of external factors.

Now this technology is being tested in Alaska, where there are many regions with little or no cellular coverage. The company plans to deploy its network to approximately 7,000 locations in Alaska. In the near future, the technology is planned to be developed.

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