What is satellite broadband?
Satellite broadband is the delivery of internet access using satellite communication links, typically from a dish or flat-panel terminal at the user's location to a geostationary or low-Earth orbit satellite, and onwards to a gateway connected to the internet backbone. It serves communities, enterprises, vessels, and aircraft where terrestrial fibre, cable, or 4G/5G is unavailable, insufficient, or uneconomical.
GEO broadband
Historically, GEO satellites dominated satellite broadband. Viasat's ViaSat-3 (launched 2023) delivers over 1 Tbps total throughput across three satellites covering the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. HughesNet uses the Jupiter 3 satellite (over 500 Gbps capacity) to serve rural North America. Download speeds of 25–100 Mbps are achievable, but the inherent 550+ ms round-trip latency limits interactive applications.
LEO broadband revolution
Starlink (SpaceX) has transformed the market. With over 10,000 satellites at ~550 km altitude, Starlink delivers 100–300 Mbps with 25–60 ms latency to residential customers, maritime vessels, aircraft, and enterprises globally. As of February 2026, Starlink serves over 10 million customers. Eutelsat OneWeb targets enterprise and government customers with its 648-satellite constellation. Amazon Kuiper is entering service. These LEO systems compete directly with terrestrial 4G/5G in areas without fixed-line broadband.
Market trajectory
LEO broadband is the fastest-growing segment of the satellite industry. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for Starlink residential service is approximately $120/month globally. The total addressable market — 3.5 billion people without reliable broadband — represents a multi-hundred-billion-dollar opportunity, driving the capital investment in mega-constellations despite the high upfront infrastructure cost.