Author: Marcin Frąckiewicz

High above Earth, in the crowded expanse of geosynchronous orbit (GEO) some 22,300 miles up, a set of American satellites quietly keeps watch. These are the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites – often dubbed “neighborhood watch” satellites – and they form a covert but crucial line of defense in space. Born in secrecy…
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Introduction: A New Era of Anywhere Connectivity Imagine being able to send a message or make a call from anywhere on Earth, even far outside cellular coverage. That’s the promise driving the development of next-generation handheld satellite phones and advanced antennas. Long seen as bulky gadgets of last resort, satellite phones are now undergoing a…
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Definition and How Geostationary Orbit Works A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a circular orbit around Earth’s equator at approximately 35,786 km altitude (about 22,236 miles) where a satellite orbits once per sidereal day (~23 hours 56 minutes) in the same direction as Earth’s rotation en.wikipedia.org esa.int. This precise altitude and orbital period make the satellite…
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Canada’s vast geography and diverse communities present unique challenges and opportunities for internet connectivity. In recent years, significant progress has been made to bring high-speed internet to Canadians nationwide, yet stark disparities remain between densely populated cities and sparsely populated rural or remote regions. As of early 2025, approximately 93.5% of Canadian households have access…
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Introduction: LEO and the Rise of Small Satellites Low Earth Orbit (LEO) generally refers to orbits up to about 2,000 km above Earth’s surface nasa.gov. At these altitudes, satellites circle the globe in ~90–120 minutes, close enough for low-latency communications and high-resolution observations. In recent years, small satellites – typically massing from a few kilograms…
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Disasters – whether natural or man-made – often wreak havoc on local communication infrastructure. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and conflicts can topple cell towers, sever fiber-optic cables, and leave entire regions cut off. For instance, Hurricane Maria in 2017 damaged 95% of cell towers in Puerto Rico, leaving the island largely without phone service freepress.net. In such…
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Cameroon, a Central African nation of about 29.5 million people, is racing to improve internet connectivity for its citizens. As of early 2025, roughly 41.9% of the population uses the internet, leaving the majority still offline datareportal.com bmz-digital.global. Internet access has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet it remains unevenly distributed and faces many…
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When hurricanes flatten cell towers and earthquakes sever landlines, staying connected becomes a lifeline. In such dire scenarios, satellite phones emerge as critical tools to maintain communication when the grid goes dark. Unlike regular cell phones tied to terrestrial networks, satellite phones link directly to satellites orbiting above, enabling calls and messages from virtually anywhere…
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Satellite internet is revolutionizing global connectivity—from remote villages to ships at sea—but how safe are these space-age links? This report explores the ins and outs of satellite internet security, from the basics of how it works to the encryption guarding your data, real-world hacks, industry practices, regulations, and cutting-edge defenses on the horizon. Overview: How…
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In the race for high-speed internet, satellite and fiber-optic broadband represent two very different approaches. Fiber-optic (terrestrial broadband) is often considered the gold standard – delivering data at nearly the speed of light through glass cables buried underground or strung on poles mcsnet.ca. Satellite internet, by contrast, beams data to orbiting satellites and back to…
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