Glenn Katz, Chief Commercial Officer, Telesat
Large-scale edge computing places compute and storage resources close to where data is generated, such as by various devices, including the rapidly expanding Internet of Things (IoT). This is especially useful in enterprise applications.
Yet even then, everything cannot be accomplished through a single edge server. Applications will often need to talk to other edge computing devices; there will still be data that goes back and forth to the master cloud or wherever the master application is held. To accommodate, enterprises need a massive amount of low-latency, high-speed connectivity to edge computing devices, often called the collaborative edge.
Gartner predicts that by 2025, 75% of enterprise-generated data will be created outside of centralized data centers. That means far more low latency bandwidth is required, right now. Fortunately for enterprises, next-generation, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations now offer the capability to enable a mesh network that backs up operations to guarantee resiliency or expand operations, delivering carrier ethernet-level performance at the lowest latency and highest speed. And depending on geography, at a lower cost than fibre.
How an enterprise-class LEO network supports the collaborative edge
Unlike some LEO systems designed around business-to-consumer services, we designed Telesat Lightspeed as an enterprise-class LEO network from day one. It is a truly global service designed for communications service providers seeking a superior choice for connecting rural and hard-to-reach areas. Enterprise-class means delivering high throughput connectivity with guaranteed service level agreements that include defined committed information rates, packet loss, and jitter, as well as service availability and low latency performance that is on par with terrestrial fibre.
This global, MEF-certified Layer 2 Carrier Ethernet network in space is possible due to next-generation technology such as software-defined networking and optical inter-satellite links (OISLs) that connect each satellite to form a mesh network in space. Telesat Lightspeed LEO satellites can support multi-gigabit per second data links and are 35 times closer to Earth than GEO satellites, resulting in low latency connectivity.
That’s precisely what is required for the collaborative edge. Telesat Lightspeed ensures that telecom and cloud service providers can provide their customers with a city-like broadband edge experience. Such connectivity can support collaborative edge operations anywhere, from urban hospitals and smart cities to manufacturing environments. It will be especially useful for industries with remote operations that may struggle with current coverage limitations.
For instance, the maritime sector can’t rely on best-effort internet connectivity to connect edge data to and from ships at sea for future autonomous shipping applications. Many autonomous commercial vessels at sea will generate massive data requirements while underway. Although some of that data can be managed locally, each ship will require a land-based digital twin replica for the network operations center (NOC). These connections must have low latency to minimize the delay in transferring data, such as real-time video, which may be crucial to safety and operational integrity.
The same goes for mining, another data-intensive sector increasingly reliant on IoT devices and on-site video for real-time operational analysis, safety, monitoring equipment for predictive maintenance, and other efficiency requirements. Mining companies must backhaul their vast amounts of data to a collaborative edge or a cloud-based corporate data center environment. And, of course, the government and defense sectors have myriad use cases for collaborative edge architectures, from supporting deployed troops to monitoring national security to tracking critical infrastructure.
Requirements for Collaborative Edge Networking
So, how does an enterprise determine the best telecommunication provider to make their collaborative edge a reality? When evaluating potential partners, companies need to consider these five network specifications:
• Minimum Guaranteed Data Rate, otherwise known as Committed Information Rate (CIR)
• Maximum Latency
• Maximum Jitter
• Maximum Packet Loss
• Guaranteed Availability
These commitments should be backed by service level agreements (SLAs).
It’s also best to understand which companies will provide MEF standard layer 2 Carrier Ethernet services or similar, and what types of user terminals and interconnect requirements are required. Potential LEO network providers should follow industry standards and be as interoperable as possible with telecommunication companies’ networks. The LEO network should also accommodate the full range of Star, Mesh, or Star/Mesh network topology. Telesat Lightspeed is designed to comply with all these requirements.
Technology Transforming Connectivity Options
Next-generation LEO constellations are part of an explosion of innovation in space technology that is continuing to accelerate. This creates new avenues for economically bringing needed bandwidth to hard-to-reach communities anywhere in the world.
The future in space is right around the corner. It is likely that within the next decade, compute edge-type capabilities could run applications on LEO satellites and provide direct-to-satellite backhaul. As enterprises chart their strategic direction for the next decade and more, the collaborative edge combined with powerful next-generation LEO constellations can help imagine entirely new connected environments – wherever they need to operate.
