TelcoSI: Excited space nerds

Here at TelcoSI, we use our proxyNM technology to maintain a set of measures of network performance for different network types.

This helps us benchmark good and bad performance and allows us to test our agent technology on a wide range of networks with different characteristics.

Right now we maintain the following connections:

  • 3G mobile
  • 4G mobile
  • 5G mobile
  • Australian NBN based broadband
  • DSL based broadband
  • HFC based broadband
  • 4G broadband backup

We maintain these connections on several networks and in several geographic locations so we may understand the variance in offerings between service providers but also between countries. We are also pursuing access to the Australia SkyMuster satellite service at the moment.

This is an ongoing engineering effort that has been in place for some time now. It is business as usual here at TelcoSI.

We don’t publish these measures and we don’t use this to poke a finger in any service providers’ eyes, but it is a great reference point for the eternal questions such as:

  • What constitutes bad vs good performance
  • Is my performance better or worse than other peoples’ or companies’
  • Would I be better off if I moved to a different access technology or a different service provider?
  • I am moving my manufacturing to country x – how is their broadband service compared to our current services.
  • How would my application perform on that network?

However, what has excited us enough to create this post is the acceptance of our application to be a Starlink beta customer with SpaceX

Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites providing internet services around the world.

The timescales of the beta access are such that we should be receiving our connection when the southern hemisphere starts to get initial service in the second half of 2021.

Starlink is an interesting project both for internet access for emerging and currently underserved markets as well as for some opportunities in established markets where the traditional fixed-line, cellular (4G/5G), or GEO satellite services just won’t work.

One could also view the introduction of Starlink and the ramp-up of IoT as the perfect storm that will drive or enable some wonderful innovations. We are sure there will be untold applications of the service.

We are just excited that we will be able to live stream the rugby when offshore on sailing races!

For the space and technology nerds out there we have a link to Starlink’s wiki page ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink )as well as a very cool launch video showing the full Falcon9 launch missions for a payload of 60 Starlink satellites in January and February 2021 ( https://youtu.be/fe6HBw1y6bA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0dkyV09Zso)