Satellite orbiting earth

Le Ba Tan, deputy general director of military-run telecom firm Viettel, said satellite Internet services have been used by many countries to provide Internet access to remote mountainous or island regions. Vietnam boasts one of the fastest developing Internet services in the world, but around 23 percent of its area, comprising mainly islands and rural areas, has yet to receive coverage, he said.

If a satellite Internet constellation could be realized, coverage could surpass that of cellular networks, Tan said.

Vietnam should consider researching low Earth orbit satellite constellations, which are appropriate to its economic conditions, he said. A low Earth orbit satellite would be cheaper to build and launch, and due to its closer proximity to Earth (800-1,600 kilometers from the ground), Internet connectivity would be faster, with a wider bandwidth and lower latency.

However, limitations in using such a satellite include its low life cycle of up to seven years, and expensive signal transceivers required by end-users, Tan said. Vietnamese businesses would also find it difficult to deploy their own low Earth orbit satellite constellations due to a lack of resources, he said.

“Internet service providers would need to depend on existing satellite networks operated by foreign companies,” Tan said.

Additionally, the price for such a service could also be an issue, as a similar network to Elon Musk’s Starlink is already 10 times more expensive than ordinary bandwidth Internet services used in Vietnam. If a satellite Internet service is deployed in Vietnam, it would prioritize giving remote areas Internet access, not replacing current bandwidth Internet services, he said.

National security could also be a problem when dealing with satellite Internet services. Certain countries, like Russia and China, have been cautious with the service, evident by refusing to approve the wave frequency required for Starlink to work.

But some others, like Canada, have been more open to the idea,having already established conditions for satellite approval since 2017, and requesting companies that wish to develop such a service to have a deployment plan mapped out and guaranteed in seven years to prevent possible issues regarding frequency resources and satellite orbits.

Starlink, the satellite Internet constellation service operated by U.S. aerospace and space transportation firm SpaceX, helmed by business magnate Elon Musk, has stated on its official website it is targeting Vietnam coverage in 2022. The deposit fee for the service would be $99, and could be refunded if wished. Users would only need equipment like the Starlink data transceiver, power supply, cables, tripods and a clear field of view to use the service.

However, Vietnam Telecommunications Authority (VNTA) stated Starlink so far has yet to be approved for use in Vietnam. Its representatives have only contacted authorities to introduce the project and research legal policies.

If Starlink wants to operate in Vietnam, it would need commercial agreements with Vietnamese businesses that have been approved to provide satellite telecommunications services. It could also form a venture with said businesses, VNTA said.

VNTA is gathering information and collaborating with relevant authorities to work with Starlink, it noted.

Viettel’s Le Ba Tan

Google’s report on ASEAN digital economy showed that Vietnam is the second-fastest growing internet economy in the region. Cities dominate Vietnam’s ‘online map’, but it is rural areas which are believed to be the key market with a predicted growth rate twice as high as large cities.

At present, the internet is accessible in 77 percent of rural areas. However, this means that 23 percent of rural areas still cannot access the service.

According to Le Ba Tan from Viettel, in order to solve this problem, Vietnam should think of trying satellite internet service. This is the method that many countries in the world are using to expand the internet’s coverage to remote areas such as mountainous areas and islands.

After being launched into space, the satellite will become an extraterrestrial communication station. The satellite’s mission is to receive signals in the form of radio waves from one station on Earth, amplify them and transmit back to Earth to another station.

Satellites are classified into several groups depending on the height and scope of operation, including LEO (low Earth orbit), MEO (medium Earth orbit), HEO (high Earth orbit) and GEO (Geostationary orbit). The most common satellite services include television, internet, navigation, weather, Earth observation and the use for military purposes.

Tan believes that of the prevailing technologies, Vietnam should consider developing LEO constellations to provide internet services.

Unlike other types of satellites, LEOs operate closer to the Earth, with the distance of 800-1,600 kilometers. Their life span is 5-7 years, the same as MEO and just half of GEO.

LEOs implement two major tasks – observing the Earth from a distance and connecting the internet. As the travel distance is shorter, LEOs just need 1.5-2 hours to fly around the Earth.

LEO technology has been suggested to Vietnam because it has low construction and launch costs, while it can provide high capacity at high speed and low latency.

Regarding the disadvantages of LEOs, experts mention the short lifespan, satellite waste, and high expenses for the gateway system and users’ devices.

Reports show that there are 1,800 satellites operating around the Earth, mostly LEOs.

Experts have also pointed out the challenges for Vietnam when developing LEOs, including the high service cost (7-8 times higher than common internet service) and inability of many domestic firms to research and develop services. More importantly, there is no research on the impact of LEOs on national defence.

Trong Dat

Vietnamese can register to use internet via Elon Musk’s satellite project

Starlink is the name of a project which delivers high-speed internet to consumers anywhere on the planet by using 12,000 LEO (Low Earth Orbits) satellites initiated by billionaire Elon Musk of the US.

To date, the project has succeeded in delivering the internet to the US. As many as 1,261 satellites have been launched into orbit.

When accessing Starlink’s website, users can choose well-known cities in Vietnam such as Hanoi, HCMC, Hue, Da Nang, Hai Phong and Can Tho when registering for the service.

Starlink is expected to begin providing satellite internet service to users in Vietnam in 2022. To become one of the first users, you have to pay a fee of $99, or VND2.3 billion. The payment will be made via international cards including VISA and Master Card.

The kit of products to be provided includes a Starlink satellite dish, wifi router, power supply, cables and mounting tripod. Id users change their minds, Starlink will refund their deposit.

To receive internet signals from satellites, users will have to mount a Starlink dish on their roofs. A clear view of the sky is needed to connect. Even small obstructions such as trees and electricity poles may cause interruptions. Starlink needs a large space to receive signals.

According to Starlink, during the trial period, users can access the internet at the speed of 50-150 Mbps and latency of 20-40 ms.

Satellite internet service packages will be fixed for only certain areas on earth.

In Vietnam, Viettel has also proposed using satellite internet service with LEO satellites (Satellites are classified into several groups depending on the height and scope of operation, including LEO, MEO (medium Earth orbit), HEO (high Earth orbit) and GEO (Geostationary orbit).

In addition to the Starlink satellite internet service, Vietnamese are likely to have another choice if they want to use the service.

The difficulty for Vietnamese firms when developing the service is their limited capability. They may have to rely on satellite networks owned by foreign companies.

Another problem is the impact on traditional telecom services and national security.

Regarding feasibility, Starlink’s service cost is 7-8 times higher than fixed broadband internet service in Vietnam.

If the service is provided in Vietnam, this will be a solution to bring the internet to areas with divided terrain such as mountains and islands.

Trong Dat

The made-in-Vietnam sea observation satellite underwent vibration, shock and thermal vacuum testing in a simulated pre-launch environment, the last steps in its hardware development, at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan.

The satellite weighs four kilos and belongs to the cubesat category, a type of miniaturized satellite for space research made of multiple 10 centimeter × 10 centimeter × 10 centimeter modules.

Vietnam’s NanoDragon satellite undergoes thermal vacuum testing at the Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan. Photo courtesy of VNSC.

Le Xuan Huy, deputy general director of VNSC, said the NanoDragon satellite ended its tests on April 7, meeting all targets as required in terms of design and safety prior to launch.

The satellite is operating normally after being transferred back to Vietnam, awaiting its launch into orbit. Japan’s Epsilon rocket is expected to launch NanoDragon as part of the second “Innovative atellite technology demonstration” program within Japan’s 2021 fiscal year ending March 2022.

The satellite was developed with the purpose of demonstrating it could use micro-satellite beam technology to receive the Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal to track and monitor activities at sea. The NanoDragon satellite is also designed to verify the quality of Japan’s MEISEI satellite navigation and positioning system and a new advanced onboard computer developed exclusively for microsatellites.

The NanoDragon satellite is expected to operate in solar synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 560 kilometers from Earth.

Japan sent the 50-kilogram Vietnamese satellite MicroDragon into space from Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan, in January 2019.

It was used to observe Vietnam’s coastline, evaluate water quality, locate fishery resources and monitor changes to serve aquaculture, detect cloud coverage and aerosols, collect ground-based sensor signals and transmit them to stations on Earth.

Vietnam sent its first indigenous satellite into space in 2013. The one-kilogram PicoDragon remained in orbit for three months. The country had launched four prior satellites, all made by foreign companies.