VoIP Phones & Cloud-based Telephony | Read Time: 2 mins.
If you’ve not heard already, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is planning on releasing a satellite constellation called Starlink. This constellation will consist of nearly 12,000 satellites by the mid-2020s.
Starlink is designed to bring about a space-based high-speed internet system.
Through these satellites, SpaceX is intending to deliver internet connectivity to remote areas.
But what does this have to do with VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or cloud-based telephony services?
There’s very little to denying that VoIP services outweigh traditional ISDN networks. In fact, we’ve covered this exact topic previously.
Unfortunately, there is one very rare barrier to the service.
VoIP needs a reliable internet connection to deliver high quality calls.
Now, broadband coverage in the UK is exceptionally high. With nearly 96% of coverage in the UK being classed as SuperFast.
But this does leave 4% of the country receiving low, or in some cases, no broadband speeds.
These areas tend to be rural regions in the middle of the countryside or in remote areas.
Typically, the cost of installing a broadband network in these areas is far too high for the carrier to justify.
BT’s Openreach is shutting down the ISDN network in the 2020s in favour of VoIP. How will these rural areas adapt?
Our normal solution to this problem would be to install a Line-of-Sight connection or to take advantage of 4G networks. Future 5G networks will also be utilised.
These overcome the excess costs of installing a fixed line.
The announcement of SpaceX’s Starlink opens doors to another connectivity solution.
Rather than installing a fixed line or a mobile device to connect to 4G or 5G, Starlink could offer superfast broadband internet without the infrastructure.
Of course, we’re still to see whether the constellation of satellites can be successfully built and whether the system will be opened up to us in the UK.
Ultimately, Starlink has the opportunity to allow very remote locations to take advantage of cloud-telephony benefits. This could get interesting!
(Read latest blog: We’ve been shortlisted for the Lincolnshire Technology & Innovation Awards!
