Low Earth orbit satellite communication services, a next-generation telecom infrastructure such as Starlink and OneWeb, are expected to launch in earnest in Korea within the year.
According to the industry on the 12th, Starlink Korea has recently opened a domestic website and begun providing service information, preparing to start operations.
Previously, Starlink established a Korean subsidiary in 2023 and completed registration as a common carrier. This year, it also obtained approval for a cross-border supply agreement and conformity certification for antenna equipment, among other things.
OneWeb, a subsidiary of the French-British joint venture Eutelsat, is also nearing service launch. OneWeb met the requirements to push ahead with the business after its agreements with domestic common carriers Hanwha Systems and KT SAT were approved.
OneWeb installed domestic point-of-presence (PoP) equipment over the summer and finished related infrastructure maintenance.
Low Earth orbit satellite communication is a next-generation communication technology in which hundreds to thousands of satellites orbit at an altitude of 300–1,500 km more than 10 times a day to provide internet.
It is a service that connects to the internet and more using satellites and satellite communication antennas; users subscribe to the satellite communication service and install an antenna that includes functions such as a modem and router, then can access the internet with personal devices.
Using Low Earth orbit satellite communication allows internet use even in island, mountainous, and maritime regions where terrestrial networks collapse or existing networks do not reach well.
For now, it is expected to be used for ships, aircraft, or in remote mountainous areas.