For years, Ukrainian officials have hinted that they are working on Starlink alternatives. But the truth is that there are not many options on the table.
The most discussed is Oneweb, a satellite communication network that is owned by Eutelsat, a satellite operator in France. Just like Starlink, this network relies on small, land -based terminals, and the total zodiac sign includes approximately 630 satellites with a low earthbit, which offer very high speed connectivity and lower latency than satellites that run at larger heights.
Joanna Darlington, a spokeswoman for Eutelsat, says that OneWeb offers Europe-wide coverage and that the technology has already been used to a certain extent in Ukraine, although she refused to share details. Nevertheless, according to reports, there are more than 40,000 Starlink -Terminals in Ukraine, so replacing that network with OneWeb alternatives cannot be done overnight. “It's possible, but it's not a direct coffee,” says Darlington. (The company claims the Oneweb coverage of Eutelsat in Europe Rivals Starlink Al.)
While Starlink terminals are made by SpaceX, Oneweb terminals are supplied by third-party companies. “We have shares of terminals that we could use,” emphasizes Darlington, although she adds: “Someone has to pay for it.”
To date, among others, Poland and USAID have helped Ukraine to finance the use of the Starlink network. Eutelsat is currently in conversation with the European Union about a possible scaling up of OneWeb in Ukraine.
Although Oneweb is promising, it is difficult to see how Ukrainians, especially in the circumstances of the battlefield, can trust it in the same way as Starlink, says Barry Evans, professor of information systems Engineering at the University of Surrey.
'We have one [OneWeb terminal] At the university, and it is a pretty complicated process in terms of actually connected and on board, “he says. The terminals are usually more extensive than those of Starlink and possibly more difficult to move quickly in a conflict zone, he adds, which suggests that OneWeb terminals may be better used at fixed locations on buildings.
“The other challenge is that the Terminals for Oneweb will cost thousands of dollars instead of hundreds of dollars [for Starlink]”Says Quilty. And yet Oneweb is currently the” only option “that is immediately available for Ukraine as an alternative, he adds.
That can ultimately change. Amazon's project Kuiper, a rival of Starlink, could launch his first satellites later this year. In the end, Kuiper Project will have more than 3,000 satellites. But, Evans notes, Amazon is also an American company. If the US government puts pressure on domestic companies to run away from Ukraine, then the Kuiper Project may not be much useful in the short term.
The European Union is working on its own constellation of communication satellites, called Iris2. But they may not become operational until 2030 and will only contain about 300 satellites with medium and earthly earth. The size of a satellite constellation influences the connection speeds and coverage it offers. For example, Starlink already has more than 7,000 satellites on the earth, although the network may need a total of around 10,000 before the coverage really becomes worldwide. SpaceX has suggested that it could launch more than 40,000 satellites if permitted to do this by the UN International Telecommunication Union.
Andrew Cavalier, ruimtetechnologie-analist bij ABI Research, een technisch intelligentiebedrijf, zegt dat hij sceptisch is dat SpaceX Oekraïners zou blokkeren om toegang te krijgen tot Starlink, maar de huidige twijfels over de betrouwbaarheid van SpaceX zijn een “wake-up call” voor landen die de service gebruiken, die nu steeds meer investeren in het ontwikkelen van hun eigen, soevereine, satellite communication networks. Evans agrees. “The Ukrainian situation has brought it forward a bit,” he says. “People are worried about the dominance that Starlink has.”
In Ukraine, Ada Wordsworth says that she is not aware of an alternative that could easily take the place of Starlink.
With Russia, who has lately encouraged lately, she says that a general sense of hopelessness is between the locals who have returned home to villages near the front line. Many can't go anywhere else.
When asked what she would say to Elon Musk, she answers: “This is not a game. This is not a decision to be taken out of bitterness or resentment, or a crooked sense of power. This is the life of real people. “
