The cloud. A metaphor for a global network that operates as a single ecosystem, and a metaphor which is having more and more impact in the daily lives of both consumers and businesses. These impacts can be observed and felt in a number of different ways from access to speed to security and more.
With the world’s focus turning towards cloud-based data storage solutions, satellite operators are keen to increase their capacity to augment data storage capability and accommodate cloud technology.
Alongside the cloud, the skies are getting busy with the emergence of New Space, which is introducing small satellite constellations. We are also adding 5G to the mix of network requirements and demands, meaning satellite networks need to be operating the best they can to deliver on expectations and the collective demands.
Heavy traffic
It is forecast that data traffic will soon represent around 98% of all satellite traffic at a consolidated level by the middle of this decade. Most satellite operators are eager to increase the share of data traffic dramatically and to transform their operating models to take advantage of this rapid growth and acceleration from a number of sources. With many businesses and consumers rapidly moving their IT infrastructure to the cloud, and no signs of this slowing, the satellite industry needs to get ahead of the curve. By offering cloud-first satellite services the industry can more fully meet the needs of its customers while at the same time positioning itself for future success and growth as satellite capacity and numbers expand.
Salesforce, AWS, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox and iCloud through their inception achieved milestones to get us to the place we now are. However, we are on the precipice of new and greater milestones, that 15 years ago would have seemed impossible. The developments and exploration these companies haveachieved within the cloud, has now allowed us a distribution architecture, with access to greater security, network flexibility, redundancy, new services, fast time to market and all at a lower TCO.
5G
It, however doesn’t stop there. Alongside the cloud, suppliers and end-users must take into consideration one very important development - 5G, the next generation cellular network. The implications of 5G on the satellite industry have been numerous, which has prompted a scramble to better align satellite and 5G standards; to ensure there are mutually compatible specifications to ensure the networks deliver what is required against promises and expectations.
The initial rationale for 5G centers around the rise and demand for IoT, the high density of 5G networks makes it better suited for IoT applications. Most, if not all, IoT applications are running in the cloud since the cloud offers scalability. The amount of data collected by IoT applications is an order of magnitude higher than the amount that traditional applications would generate, and all this data needs to be aggregated and pushed to the cloud to be of analytical use.
5G also offers more access for more people. This next generation network allows the uniform dissemination of the internet to not only cities but opens up opportunities within rural areas. Here, satellite is the natural option for connection, and this connection must be robust enough to transmit the IoT device’s data to the teleport and then hand over the data quickly and reliably to the cloud service provider. The impact in these areas will mean that the countryside has the potential to take advantage of smart agriculture, connected wind turbines, smart cars and the like.
Standardizing & virtualizing
So, with more internet and network availability for all it is going to mean more data for satellite networks to carry and secure. One important consideration in 5G networks is the network-slicing concept, which is ultimately aimed at improving the ability to prioritize and manage traffic based on use cases. The notion of traffic prioritization is not new to satellite communication. Nevertheless, the objective is to manage the multiplying sources of traffic and applications more effectively. This comes together with significant research efforts around the notions of QoS and QoE. These will evolve, also depending on use-cases and end-users.
To fully embrace the changes and reliance on satellites, ground systems must push towards a standardized, cloud-based service delivery that is driven by three key technology enablers: orchestration, standardization, and virtualization.
The migration towards virtualization and the cloud is being undertaken across every industry and every region as businesses look to accommodate the surge in bandwidth demands. Virtualization and cloudification will reduce overall operational complexity, enabling a fully digitalized ground network that can integrate within the telecom 5G fabric and provide access to cloud-based applications and management tools as well as improved performance and security.
Until now, Satellite VSAT systems have been managed as standalone systems. Today, this is changing as some of the terrestrial standards are becoming dominant, such as the 5G / 3GPP and the MEF standards. The use of standards will allow service providers to integrate satellite communication systems into an existing terrestrial environment that can be easily managed as one, further aligning the operations.
To help drive the 5G standard and the adoption of satellite forward, there is a need to foster collaboration among various ecosystem partners and participating in industry standards bodies. This standardization is also important for virtualizing ground segment components and enabling them for operation in the cloud. DIFI (Digital IF Interoperability Consortium) is currently in an open collaboration with ecosystem partners to develop an open digitized standard for the SATCOM industry. This new standard will enable all manufacturers to build interoperable technologies that work in both open and closed network topologies, digitizing the interface between modulator/ demodulator, modem and RF components.
Overall, we know communications networks are complex and need to be managed from multiple perspectives in order to meet today’s dynamic customer demands. Thus, networking and orchestration technologies need to work in unison across multi-orbit satellite, terrestrial and mobile networks to enable a truly seamless service offering. Resource and end-to-end service orchestration can achieve this as they match software-defined satellite constellations with software-defined networks.
The satellite industry going through this unprecedented transformation and it is set to have a significant impact. Convergence is already happening on the terrestrial side, driven mainly by Telcos moving towards a unified, cloud-based, converged 5G network architecture that is massive in scale. Convergence is also happening between the Space and Ground segments, enabling tight integration and creating truly software-defined networks so that satellite can take its place in the hybrid, end-to-end network.
A cloud on the horizon
To keep pace, stay relevant and useful, networking infrastructure needs to migrate to the cloud. By embracing this shift, the satellite industry can create enormous opportunity by improving its technology through scalability, and delivering its services in a space where it is increasingly needed. This won’t happen overnight. The industry will adapt in phases, due to the decision time needed for investing in new infrastructure, the maturity of technology solutions or the positioning of satellite operators and service companies. One thing is for sure, it’s a very exciting time to be in satellite.
