An Internet from Space

Satellites and Network design that would cover the earth with an Internet.

A Network Design for the 'Internet from Space'
ETH Zurich
Florian Meyer
December 10, 2019

Researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland are proposing a network design that could double the network capacity of low-flying satellites to create an "Internet from Space." The proposed system would use thousands of satellites linked to each other via laser light to form a network, providing coverage that could reach remote regions that currently have no or very limited access to the Internet. The design concept is based on the high temporal dynamics of low Earth orbit satellites. The researchers decided to make the connections between satellites based on specialized, repetitive patterns, with the most suitable pattern depending on the satellite constellation's geometry and the network's input traffic. Said Ankit Singla of ETH Zurich, "To implement satellite-based broadband Internet, we have to rethink virtually all aspects of the way in which the Internet is currently designed to function."  .... '