Satellite Broadband Is Expanding. Can That Reduce the Digital Divide?

A satellite launch expected lin 2022 could expand the availability of high-speed internet for the nation’s students. The launch of ViaSat-3, a trio of ultra high capacity GEO satellites, is part of ViaSat's ambition to create a global network of high-capacity internet. Each of the satellites will offer more than one terabyte per second of total network output, a thousand times the capacity of the company's first-generation satellites, which the company says will allow educators and students across the country to connect “significantly” better. The satellites will be part of the future of internet access, but using them in education will require some creativity, Johannes Bauer, chair of the Quello Center at Michigan State University, says. Geostationary satellites can expand coverage area and cost-effectiveness, but there are some downsides that will likely limit their usefulness in education settings or would at least require adaptations in how we deliver education, he says. Notably, for technical reasons, these types of satellites are great for providing a high-volume one-way signal, but they have limitations when providing two-way individual connectivity, for example, Bauer argues.