The (Literal) Launch of New Satellite IoT Services Has Begun

In the past two weeks, SpaceX and ISRO have put 95 new satellites into orbit. India’s PSLV launch on November 29, 2018 carried 31 satellites to orbit while SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had 64 satellites onboard the December 3 launch.  Among the passengers, seven IoT (Internet of Things) startup companies looking to provide new, low-cost services to track and monitor things across the world.  Satellite IoT is surging and the subject of an IoT Evolution panel discussion in Ft. Lauderdale on January 31, 2019. A few of the names you’ll hear more about in the weeks and months to come include Astrocast, Fleet Communications, Helios Wire, Hiber Global, Kepler Communications, Myriota, and Swarm Technologies. Six of the seven firms have successfully communicated with their 11 (total of all firms) new satellites; Swarm may have as well, but the company doesn’t like to talk to the media unless the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is holding up its licenses for bad behavior. Small satellites present two key advantages and one disadvantage for implementing IoT services.  Small satellites, being small, are cheaper to build and launch, lowering overall capital expense costs.  Flying closer to the ground than geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) at 22,300 miles above the earth.  At an altitude of a couple hundred miles above the surface, less power and smaller antennas are needed to transmit and receive data, lowering costs of both ground equipment and satellite transmitters.