Cosmic IoT Revolution: How Optimized Satellite Constellations Are Connecting Every Corner of Earth
Starlink has over 7,500 active LEO satellites as of 2025 at about 550 km altitude, with plans to up to 42,000, uses Ku/Ka bands and laser inter-satellite links, and is piloting Direct-to-Cell IoT connectivity with latency around 20–50 ms. OneWeb has approximately 600 active satellites out of 648 in its first-generation network in near-polar orbits at about 1,200 km, delivering ~70 ms latency and enterprise backhaul IoT capability, with global coverage achieved in early 2023 and a merger with Eutelsat. Iridium operates 66 active cross‑linked LEO satellites at around 780 km, uses Ka-band inter-satellite links, provides truly global 100% coverage,
