Geographical Challenges for Deployment
Getting internet access to reach urban areas has long been the work of internet service providers spanning the globe. Going back as far as dial-up access all the way to today’s fiber optic networks, ISPs have made it easy for populations in cities to have choices when it comes to quality internet.
The cities, large or small, and the suburbs all have established infrastructure that ISPs can use to connect their potential users. However, there are instances when these same companies may have to build their infrastructure to reach developments even in suburban areas. When it comes to more remote areas, internet service providers are faced with some difficult decisions. Many remote areas present geographical and geological problems such as challenging terrain, lack of road access, rock formations, and river crossings to name a few. Popular internet networks such as cable, DSL, and fiber optics need a wired infrastructure
requiring the installation of cables, hubs, and sometimes a system of poles to bring the cabling to the destination area. Is it economically feasible to bring terrestrial internet to remote locations? Oftentimes this involves too much of an investment in skilled technicians, road crews, equipment, materials, vehicles, and general infrastructure to bring ground-based internet to remote communities. The expenses can be prohibitive just to provide accommodation for the skilled technicians who must travel from urban areas to perform the necessary stages of installation. So, although many “ground-based” ISPs would like to develop the rural market, it simply does not make financial sense for them and as a result, remote locations are ignored.
Impact on Fragile Ecosystems
There is an environmental cost involved in systems such as fiber optics that require a lot of energy and materials to manufacture. Materials such as silica, metals, chemicals, and water are needed in large quantities. Waste and emissions are also generated during fabrication and transportation, although this can be said about every mode of Internet access. However, terrestrial internet infrastructures can also cause ecological damage when installed on land, underground, or underwater, such as soil erosion, loss of habitat, water pollution, and depletion of forested land. They can also contribute to electronic waste when they are discarded or replaced, as they are not easily recyclable or biodegradable.
Of course, it should be acknowledged that a spin-off of all internet use involves an extreme use of electrical energy, however, that energy may be produced. Even a simple email can use a certain amount of energy, not to mention how much energy is used to maintain the mining of cryptocurrencies and the trading of same. The files we exchange, the photos and videos we produce have become higher resolution, and take more energy to send and receive. They take more space to maintain on servers and in turn, it takes more energy to run those servers. The more data we slog around, the more data centers we need. Those data centers need to be climate-controlled whether they are located in a cold or tropical setting, these huge banks of servers need an ambient temperature that has to be heated or cooled. Even the devices we use to access the internet are constructed using rare earth materials. The more our thirst for massive data flows increases, the need for bigger, better, faster, devices will grow and even more depletion of natural resources will occur just to keep up with the demand. Where does it all stop? Of that we are uncertain, however, we can make advances to lessen the impact on the planet.
Why Internet via Satellite is a Better Option
Satellite internet, although has some responsibility in its contribution to electronic waste, has a lesser impact on the environment. Even the satellite dishes can be repurposed or recycled for other uses. Generally, the deployment of high-throughput satellite internet uses less resources, natural or human than other internet options.
While the expense and logistics of bringing terrestrial internet to rural communities can be cost-prohibitive for many ISPs, satellite internet has proven to be the preferred option for remote areas. In some countries, you don’t have to venture far from a city center to be without some essential services. Today internet has become such an integral part of our lives; it can be considered an essential service, much the same as food, water, and electricity.
Internet via satellite requires no terrestrial infrastructure, minimal manpower, and supplies, is more environmentally friendly, and is easier to supply to rural and remote areas. It only takes a matter of hours to have a school, medical facility, emergency response regional headquarters, or a home connected to fast satellite internet. Better still, it takes only 2 or 3 technicians, not a road crew of installers. Perhaps it may seem obvious to many people living in populated areas that the internet is a necessity, a must! They may even panic at the loss of signal or drop in speed on their device. But for people who live off the beaten track, in remote, scantly-populated locations, it can make a great deal of difference to them, to their families, their services, and their quality of life.
