New Satellite Internet Mega Constellations
The satellite communications industry is about to experience major disruptions which could lead to a global reshuffle of telecom players. In addition to traditional satellite network operators, a handful of private companies have made gains with the goal to bring broadband access to the 4 billion people in the world who don't yet have it. There is a race among several major competitors to build a next generation broadband network in space. In the Billionaire Space Race, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and serial entrepreneur Richard Branson all have a stake in the next era of satellite internet connectivity.

New satellite constellations at a glance

StarLink

SpaceX Starlink division is on track to offer satellite broadband service in the US and Canada by late 2020.  Elon Musks' Starlink strategy plans to propel nearly 12,000 satellites into outer space.  It's an ambitious project that will aim to provide internet to every region of the planet.  The mega-constellation will be broken into two stages, the first being being sent to a higher altitude and consisting of 4409 of which 1600 will orbit at 550 km, and approximately 2800 at 1150 kilometers above the surface of the earth.  The second stage will launch 7518 satellites at 340 km orbit.  Each satellite will have a lifespan of approximately 5 years, weigh 385 kg and will use lasers to communicate to each other.  The constellation will transmit data in 3 frequencies, Ka band (26.5-40 GHz), Ku band (12-18 GHz) and V band (40-75 GHz).  As of January 6, 2020, Starlink became the worlds largest satellite operator with 182 satellites in orbit.  

OneWeb
Founded in 2012 under the name WorldVu Satellites, OneWeb intends to bridge "the digital divide in remote corners of the earth, at sea and in the skies".  Unlike geostationary satellites that operate at an altitude of 36,000 km, the OneWeb system operates at 1,200 km, resulting in significantly lower latency and better system performance. The system will provide full global coverage including the Arctic. End users will connect to the satellite by end user terminals expected to cost around US$200.  OneWeb will launch with download speeds in the hundreds of Mbps, and will eventually offer gigabit downloads.  Recent tests showed Full HD (1080p) streaming video at latency of less than 40 milliseconds at speeds of over 400 Mbps in lab conditions.  OneWeb has launched 6 satellites in their planned constellation of 648 satellites (600 active plus 48 on-orbit spares).  The project will cost between 1.5 to 2 billion US dollars.  Satellites will travel at a speed of 26,110 km/h at a pitch of 9.00s, orbital inclination of 87.9 degrees and orbital period of 109 minutes to travel around the earth. 

Project Kuiper
Amazon is getting in the space race, planning to build a network of 3236 satellites in an ambitious attempt to provide global broadband internet access. Project Kuiper is a new initiative to launch a constellation of low earth orbit satellites that will provide low latency, high speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world. This is a long-term project that envisions serving tens of millions of people who lack basic access to broadband internet.  In December 2019, Project Kuiper is hiring engineers and analysts for their Bellevue, WA, San Diego, CA, Arlington, VA, Austin, TX and Sunnyvale, Ca facilities. 

Telesat LEO
Canadian satellite communications firm Telesat is working on its own low-Earth orbit constellation, planning to launch hundreds of satellites in 2021 and is scheduled to begin operations in 2022.  Telesat LEO will be an industry-leading, next generation low earth orbit satellite constellation that leverages their global, priority Ka-band spectrum rights and patent-pending architecture to transform global communications.

Telesat promises cost effective user terminals to "make full use of Telesat LEO at the right performance and price points" for applications including commercial, goverment, militiary and maritime.   Terminals will be available for all types of applications ranging from fixed services, land, marine and aero mobility services, in the form of low profile ESA or traditional mechanically steered antennas from 65 cm aperture size and up.

Boeing
Boeing has received regulatory permission to launch 147 satellites to offer “broadband internet and communications services to residential consumers, government and business users in the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands”.

Sfera
Russia has announced plans for its own constellation, Sfera (Sphere), which will see 600 satellites launched starting in 2021.

China
China has announced plans for its own even larger constellation, which aims to launch 12992 satellites.