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| Arctic is the battlefield between OneWeb and SpaceX |
Satellite internet companies OneWeb and SpaceX are competing for a lucrative bid to provide high-speed internet in the Arctic.
The launch of OneWeb, which consists of 36 satellites, this week brings it closer to its goal of bringing the internet to the region by the end of the year.
SpaceX has made the internet available to thousands of consumers through its Starlink pilot program and is looking for the same areas.
The launch of 36 new Internet satellites raised the OneWeb constellation to 146.
The company's original plan was to cover the Arctic online by 2020, which failed due to bankruptcy.
The British company now has a new target of five launches, so after the fiftieth parallel launch, it could be deployed anywhere.
The December release is the first and second issues this month, and the company aims to have the fifth release in June.
Unlike the constellation SpaceX, which orbits the planet along the equator, OneWeb's orbit is point to point.
This means that the traditionally quiet areas north and south of the Internet will soon become the satellite centers of the British Community Network.
The next generation of OneWeb satellites could have optical links so that these satellites can communicate with each other in space.
This could reduce the need for expensive ground stations in hard-to-reach areas of the Arctic.
OneWeb hasn't released a user terminal design or monthly pricing plan, and the planned 648 satellite suite is much smaller than SpaceX.
Satellites at higher altitudes can travel to a larger area on Earth. The disadvantage is that the wait time is longer or the time required to transfer data between the satellite and its target is increased.
On the one hand, SpaceX is leading the development of its space network thanks to large rounds of funding and funding from billionaire founders.
Under the OneWeb constellation, which is only a fraction of the 30,000 predicted constellations, more than 1,300 satellites have been placed into orbit.
SpaceX won regulatory approval to launch its first 10 satellites into polar orbit in January.
SpaceX is now seeking permission to launch dozens of other satellites into polar orbit to provide broadband services to remote areas of Alaska.
SpaceX believes that this area is of particular value to the US Army. As the US Northern Command searches for commercial options for a faster Internet connection to the Arctic, Pentagon officials visited SpaceX's OneWeb facilities.
The Air Force's Global Lightning Program enters a new phase in distributing satellite internet contracts in the Arctic.
When the former commander of US Northern Command asked Congress last year to allocate $ 130 million to a polar communications program, the military benefits were clear and the system would benefit from Starlink and OneWeb.
In recent years, the US military has rethought its strategy in the Arctic, as rapid climate change has thawed the ice sheet in the region, redefined major transportation routes, and opened new routes for warships and submarines.
Enhancing the deployment of broadband in the Arctic is part of this strategic shift.
Once barriers are removed in the region, leaders will need better air and sea connections to create a new phase of competition between the United States, Russia and China.
Most communications satellites today fly over the equator and cannot see the polar regions.
Some higher orbit satellites provide data services to the polar regions, albeit to a limited extent, particularly due to the growing demand for data in the military.
The satellite network provided by OneWeb and the Telesat satellite network are partially orbiting the Earth orbiting the Earth in order to bridge the data gap in the Arctic.
SpaceX is awaiting FCC approval to launch 348 additional satellites into polar orbit to meet the needs of federal broadband users who could have a major impact on national security.
When SpaceX enters polar orbit, the orbital design approved by the OneWeb constellation gives a polar edge.
All satellites cross over the polar region with respect to OneWeb, so the highest concentration of their capacity is in the polar regions, opening the opportunity to move from a data-deficient situation to one with an overwhelming amount of data available.