Couldyourbusiness achievemorewith betterconnectivity?

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Coul d your busi ness

achi eve mor e wi th

better connecti vi ty?

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Could yourbusiness achieve

more with betterconnectivity? 2 www.groundcontrol.com

W hat’ s i n thi s eBook

Ground Controlhasspecialised in satellite and cellular

connectivity forremote,criticalcommunicationsforover20 years.In thattime we’ve seen huge changesin how satellite connectivity isdelivered and charged for,which hasreally opened up thischannelforIoT /M2M applications.Which is timely,because the numberofIoT connected deviceshas e

exploded in recentyears,while terrestrialnetworksstillonly cover15% ofthe earth’ssurface.

In thiseBook we’llexplore the changing landscape ofsatellite connectivity,and take a look atthe projectionsby industry for future growth;we’lltake a deep dive into some ofthe ways improved connectivity istransforming outcomes,from disaster recovery to transporttelematics.

Finall

Finally,we’ve included an FAQssection,so ifyou wantto cutto the chase,head to page 15.

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An Over vi ew of

Satel l i te I oT

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Acti ve Devi ce

Connecti ons W or l dwi de

These two chartstella story:the ﬁrstprojection wasmade in 2018,and suggested thatthere would be approximately 20 billion IoT devicesby 2025.

The second projection,made in 2020,only coversindustrialIoT devices,butitputsthe numberat36.8 billion devicesby

2025 -a 107% increase overthe known 2020 ﬁgure.

The use ofindustrialIoT deviceshasfarexceeded projections made justtwo yearsearlier,accelerated to some degree by COVID-19,asbusinessestackled digitaltransformation projectswith unprecedented urgency.

Source:IoT AnalyticsResearch 2018

Source:JuniperResearch IndustrialIoT:Future MarketOutlook 2020-2025 Report

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Connecti vi ty Chal l enges

Itis,ofcourse,mission criticalthatindustrialIoT devicescan communicate with theirbase ofoperations.There’sa clear challenge fordevicesthatare eitherin remote areas,or

travelling in and outofcellularcoverage -terrestrialnetworks only cover15% ofthe Earth’ssurface (albeit50% ofthe

landmass),and focuson populated areas. Thisle

Thisleavesa numberofbusinessesunable to reach theirassets remotely due to insufﬁcientcoverage orprohibitively expensive solutions,and having instead to resortto manpower-with the time delaysand additionalcostspresented by thatsolution.

When yourassetsare mobile -land,sea orair-orlocated in remote areaslike deserts,forestsand mountainousregions, satellite isthe only viable option forsecure,guaranteed and - aswe willsee,increasingly cost-effective connectivity.

One furtherarea that’sworth noting,isthatthe numberone challenge The IoT Magazine stated thatIoT faced was

cybersecurity,and the risk ofhacking.Satellite hasa huge advantage

advantage overcellularhere,as,ifneeded,an entirely private network can be created with no reliance on,or exposure to,publicinfrastructure atall.

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Satel l i te i s now

competi ng wi th cel l ul ar

From 2016 to 2018,there wasa 60% wholesale price drop acrosshigh-throughputsatellite verticals,mostprominently forbackhauland consumerbroadband.New entrantsinto the satellite communicationsmarketsuch asSpaceX’sStarlink, Swarm,Telesat’sLightspeed and Amazon’sKuiperwillfurther increase competition,and drive consumerpricing down.

Existing pl

Existing playerssuch asInmarsatand Iridium have diversiﬁed theirofferings,with IoT /tracking servicesatone end ofthe spectrum,and high throughputbroadband atthe other.

So here’sthe criticalpoint:satellite isnotaslow costascellular, butitismostdeﬁnitely moving in the rightdirection.

Greatercompetition,bettertechnology,and diversiﬁcation of offeringshasseen the wholesale price ofhigh-throughput satellite tumble in recentyears,and it’sourview thatthiswill continue to decline,asthe established players-Inmarsatand Iridium,forexample -come up againstwellfunded new

ent

entrants.

“ The dat a mar ket i s s t r i vi ng t o ac hi eve t he hol y gr ai l of t el ec om pr i c i ng t hr ough c apac i t y s uppl y ac c el er at i on, l ed by pl ayer s l i ke

Vi aSat , Hughes , SES and upc omi ng LEOs , among ot her s . ”

Northern Sky Research

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Pr oj ected usage of I oT

Thatsaid,it’simprobable thatsatellite willreplace cellular,asit islikely to alwaysremain a little more expensive;so the

applicationsforsatellite IoT are,notunexpectedly,those where cellularnetworksare unavailable,such asocean bound vessels orremote farms,orwhere the assetismoving in and outof terrestrialconnectivity -such astransportand cargo.

Asthe chartshows,the projection for2027 isthat maritime,agriculture and land t

maritime,agriculture and land transportwillbe the power usersofsatellite connectivity.

Source:Satellite Markets& Research,September2021

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Case Studi es

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Di saster Recover y

According to FEMA,there are fourstagesof emergency management:

In the response stage,IoT devices can monitorthe movementand even the health ofkey personnel, and help coordinate efforts. Messagescan also be distributed to spread information quickly. In the rec

In the recovery stage,the tracking capabilitiesofIoT deviceshelp to guide rescuersto victims,and can monitorpost-disasterconditions to provide an early warning system.

IoT can help atevery pointin thisprocess.Atthe mitigation stage,IoT can actasan early warning system -ground

movementacceleration sensorsforexample,orsensors attached to treesto record temperature,humidity and CO2 - allparametersthatchange when there isa forestﬁre.Early detection can lead to early warnings,ensuring thatmachinery detection can lead to early warnings,ensuring thatmachinery can be powered down and secured,and transportsystems halted -allofwhich can also be actioned by IoT devices.

Atthe preparation stage,IoT devicescan monitorthe condition ofemergency equipmentto ensure thatit’sin fullworking orderwhen needed,and even orderspare partsshould something reach the end ofitslife.

Mitigation

Early warning system Protectcriticalinfrastructure

Response

Monitorthe safety ofkey personnel Spread information quickly

Preparation

Monitorconditionsfor preemptive maintenance

Recovery

Assistin search and rescue Monitorpost-disasterconditions

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Asset Management

Assetmonitoring and optimisation isprobably the most popularand recognisable application ofIoT,and we could spend the entire eBook talking aboutit.

Instead we’llfocuson a single use case here:an IP solution featuring a low-power,directionalsmallterminal.Thisone ison a

ison a hydroelectricscheme monitoring riverlevelsin a remote area ofScotland,UK,that’snotserved by terrestrialnetworks. The data loggeriscollecting rainfalldata,temperature,

humidity and waterlevel.It’sgota bitofintelligence builtin so it can alarm on exception orincrease sampling based on trigger levelson the levelsensors.

Itcollectsdata every 15 minutesand powersup the terminal to send thatdata

to send thatdata every hour,oron exception (i.e.ifthe readings are outside ofa setofparameters).Thisminimisesthe power consumption and keepscostsdown.The terminalcan be solar powered and hasa 12V battery.The data iscoming offan IP connection and going to an FTP site where it’spicked up.

SolarPanel

Battery

DC Power

LAN

BGAN M2M Service via Satellite BGAN M2M Service

via Satellite Internet

M2M Equipment Probe

IP Datalogger

Solarcharge regulator

12V Battery

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Tr anspor t Tel emati cs

The chartbelow isfrom a 2019 survey oftransportand cargo companiesusing telematics,to understand the main beneﬁts they were realising from theirinvestment.The ﬁrstwasthe simple peace ofmind ofknowing where theirassets-on land, airorsea -were,atany given time.

Improved driverbehaviourislikely a knock-on effectof knowing they’re being tracked.Customers-businessesor consumers-beneﬁtfrom h

consumers-beneﬁtfrom having more realisticdelivery schedules,and ﬂeetmanagersare able to reduce fuelcosts and time by routing theirdriversaway from congestion orbad weatheraffected areas.

Asmostﬂeetsare moving in and outofcellularconnectivity, a d

a device thatautomatically switchesto satellite when cellular isn’tavailable isthe mostcosteffective meansofensuring globalconnectivity,and there are multiple devicesthatnow offerautomaticlowest-costrouting.

Source:TeletracNavman 2019 TelematicsBenchmark Report

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Envi r onmental Pr otecti on

There are dozensofexamplesofhow satellite connectivity has helped charities,NGOsand wildlife servicesreduce poaching, butthe award winning ‘InstantDetect’isan example ofwhich we’re particularly proud,because ofthe innovation shown by all parties.

It’scommon p

It’scommon practice to setup motion capture camerasaround areaswhere poachersfrequent,butthe data these devices reportoften comestoo late to save the livesofthe animals. That’sbecause traditionalwildlife monitoring systemsrely on SD cardsormobile cellularnetworksto save orupload images and data.These systemssufferdue to lack ofreal-time imagery, orsimply won’twork ifcellularconnectivity isn’tavailable

The

The ZoologicalSociety ofLondon worked with Ground Control, Seven TechnologiesGroup,and Iridium to setup a network of low powersensors,camera trapsand acousticsensorsthatare cleverenough to distinguish between a human,and a human carrying a metallicitem,such asa riﬂe.

The network sendsdata back to the interested partiesin close The network sendsdata back to the interested partiesin close to realtime,with photographicproof,which allowsthe wildlife servicesto potentially intervene and make arrestsbefore

animalsare killed ormaimed.The latency ofthe Iridium satellite network islessthan one second,so we really are able to make life-saving decisionswith thisaccessibility ofdata.

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Smar t Far mi ng

The case forsmartfarming isiron-clad:IBM Research estimatesthat90% ofyield lossesare due to weather

conditions.Sensorscan gatherdata to supportmore accurate modelsofchanging weatherpatterns,which,when combined with precision agriculture techniques,could cutyield lossesby 25% (source:IDATE).

F

Further,IoT enabled equipmentcan reportthe numberofcrops gathered peracre,and the spacing between them,and the amountoffertilizerused;itcan record wearand tearso that the farmerdoesn’teven need to place an orderfora

replacementpart,itwillarrive when the machine needsit. IoT also enablesfarmersto monitorthe health oftheir livestock and optimize yield here,too.

Buta huge barrierto wideradoption ofthistechnology isthe Buta huge barrierto wideradoption ofthistechnology isthe ability to getthatdata from the ﬁeld to the farmer,given thatby theirvery nature,farmsare in rural,and often poorly

connected,areas.Satellite connectivity overcomesthis problem,and price isno longerthe hurdle to smartfarming connectivity thatitmighthave been ﬁve yearsago.

“ A ver y l ar ge ( and s i gni ﬁc ant ) per c ent age of f ar mer s ar e not ‘ c onnec t ed’ , added t o whi c h net wor k c over age

i n r ur al ar eas t ends t o be poor . ”

I DATE

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Smar t Meter i ng

From the edge ofcitiesto remote farms,there are hundredsof millionsofpeople worldwide who live in areaswith no ﬁberor cable connections.Even in a small,densely populated country like the UK,there are still5% ofhouseholdsthathave no access to terrestrialcommunication networks.It'snotsurprising to see thispercentage increase in huge countrieslike Russia,the US and Canada.

There is,around the world,a push towardssmartgridsfor There is,around the world,a push towardssmartgridsfor electricity supply,and so understanding demand iscriticalfor utilitiesproviders.Thishastriggered the rolloutofsmart

metersto asmany homesaspossible.Butifyou’re missing data from almosta third ofyourcustomers,you can’tmake accurate predictionsaboutenergy consumption.

Additionally,some smartelectricity and gasmetersneed frequentﬁr

frequentﬁrmware updates,which would usually be delivered by terrestrialnetworks;in the absence ofthese,thiswould require an engineervisit.

Enabling yoursmartmeterswith a satellite transceiver

overcomesthisproblem,asitensuresboth thatthe data can be transmitted to the utility company,and also,thatﬁrmware

upg

upgradescan be delivered remotely,withouthaving to visit these remote households.

Percentage of homes without access to terrestrialcommunication networks

Source:Deloitte Mobile Home InternetReport,2018

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Fr equentl y Asked

Questi ons

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W hat ar e the Costs Rel ati ve to Cel l ul ar ?

The costofsending data via satellite hasmaterially lowered;in 2016 to 2018,forexample,the wholesale pricing forhigh throughputconnectivity dropped by 60%.Itisnot,and is unlikely to everbe,aslow costascellular,butthere are plenty ofwaysin which you can optimise yourdevicesto ensure that the costisaslow aspossible.Forexample,can you reporton ex

exception ratherthan routinely,and powerdown the terminal when notin active use?

Edge computing willfurtherreduce the costofsatellite

connectivity,asitwillenable more processing to take place at the sensorlocation,so lessdata willbe needed to be sentover satellite.Thisemerging technology isgathering pace and is likely to feature in mostnew IoT installationsin remote areas. Is Satellite Secure?

Transmitting yourdata from yoursensorsto the satellite, and back to a ground station on Earth,isvery secure.What typically happensn

typically happensnextisthat the ground station sendsyour data via the internet-protected via a VPN -to yourbase of

operations.Thisisthe most popularchoice because it's cost-effective and very secure.

The mostsecure option isa The mostsecure option isa private satellite network, where yourdata issentto your own ground station,ratherthan shared facilities.Asyou might expect,thisoption ismore e

expensive,buta popularchoice forbusinesseslike Utilitiesand Oiland Gas,on whom a huge amountofthe economy relies, and so forwhom data security isabsolutely paramount.

Anotheroption forsecuring yourdata backhaulisa dedicated circuit.

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I s the Har dwar e Robust?

There isa huge variety ofterminalsand antennasavailable now, and you willbe able to easily locate a highly ruggedised device, ifthat’swhatyou need.Look foran IP68 rating,which means thatthe device iscompletely waterproofand dustproof,and suitable forbeing leftoutside in extreme weatherconditions. The operating temperaturesare generally -40C to +70C

(-40F to +158F),which coversmostrequirements. Asthe technology hasprogressed,the d

Asthe technology hasprogressed,the deviceshave become smaller,and are now increasingly discreetand easy to conceal. Some localauthoritieswillinsistupon thisifyou’re locating devicesin protected areas,forexample,NationalParks;italso meansthe devicesare lesslikely to be stolen orvandalised.

Can W eather I nter r upt the Si gnal ?

Thatdependson the frequency you’re using to connectwith the satellite.The L-Band frequency isnotimpacted by what’s known as‘rain fade’,whereassome frequenciesare.It’s importantto choose a frequency that’sﬁtforyourpurpose - and Ground Controlcan help you in thisselection.

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Ar e the Devi ces Power -Hungr y?

Devicesdesigned forIoT /M2M applicationsare,by design,not powerhungry.That’sbecause they may be located notjustout ofterrestrialcommunication networks;they may also be

positioned in areasunconnected to the energy grid.

So you willﬁnd many devicesthatoperate on solarpower and/orbattery;othersare mainsoperated and willneed a connection to the energy grid.Battery-powered animal t

tracking collarscan lastforthree years!

Again,it’simportantto pick the rightdevice foryourneeds.

Do you Need to Poi nt

Antennas at the Satel l i te?

In some cases,yes;the devicesmake thisvery easy by giving you LEDsand beeping soundsthatincrease in intensity when you’re approaching the mostoptimalangle.

Otherdeviceswillauto-pointata geostationary satellite (we’d recommend reading ourblog poston satellite orbitheightsfor more information,ifthisterm isunfamiliar).

Many IoT applicationsare using low-earth orbitsatellite constellationsin which multiple satellitesform a constantly constellationsin which multiple satellitesform a constantly in-motion ‘net’overhead.In thiscase you don’tneed to point yoursignalatall,asitwillalwaysbe received by one ofthe satellitesin the network.

The Ground Controlteam willbe able to advise on the best orbitheightto meetyourparticularneeds,asthere are beneﬁts to each.

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How Di cul t ar e

SatComms Devi ces to I nstal l ?

Mostare very easy to installand need no specialistadvice.

Some larger,ﬁxed dish installations-notusually seen forIoT applications-beneﬁtfrom specialistknowledge.Ifyou’re unsure,speak to the Ground Controlteam,and we’llbe able to advise.

I s my Data Guar anteed to Ar r i ve?

Satellite connectivity isextremely reliable.Inmarsat,for

example,quotes99.9% uptime.Asdescribed earlier,you need to backhaulyourdata from the ground station.Thissecure internetbackhaulisalso extremely reliable;it’sa managed service,with 24/7 monitoring,and failovercontingency builtin.

Private satellite networksremove the need forany public inf

infrastructure,so ifyou wantcomplete peace ofmind,it’s worthwhile exploring thisoption.

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Not al l satel l i tes ar e the same. . .

Ifthere’sone message that’simportantto take away from this eBook,it’sthatsatellite connectivity isnota one-size-ﬁts-all solution.

And thatisto yourbeneﬁt,because itallowsyou to buy only whatyou need foryourapplication.

Ifyou can answerthe following questions,you’llbe farcloserto identifying the bestsolution foryourneeds.

Ultimately,the Ground Controlteam are here to help.We work with the bestprovidersofsatellite connectivity available,and

multiple manufacturing partners,to ensure you getthe service you need.

Are you trying to move data hourly,daily,ormonthly?

How much data do you need to move?

W hat are yourpowerrequirements?

Is the asset moving orstationary?

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Thanks for r eadi ng!

www.groundcontrol.com [email protected] USA:800 773 7168

UK:+44 (0)1452 751940