Fibre optics is, without question, the reference transmission medium for business and datacenter connectivity: low latency, virtually unlimited bandwidth and high reliability. But fibre does not reach everywhere. Remote offices, maritime facilities, temporary sites, rural areas, industrial locations without carrier coverage... there are dozens of scenarios where businesses need alternative connectivity that works where fibre cannot.
Historically, the options were limited to geostationary satellite (expensive, slow) or point-to-point radio links (limited in distance). The emergence of LEO constellations (Low Earth Orbit) has radically changed the landscape, offering latencies comparable to terrestrial connections with deployment in days rather than months.
In this article we compare traditional satellite internet (GEO), LEO constellations, point-to-point radio links and fibre optics so you can choose the best technology for your use case, budget and latency requirements.
Traditional Satellite Internet (GEO)
Geostationary satellites orbit at 35,786 km altitude above the equator, maintaining a fixed position relative to Earth. This orbit allows a single satellite to cover vast geographical areas, but the enormous distance introduces an inherent latency that has no physical solution: the signal must travel approximately 72,000 km round trip, resulting in latencies of 550-700 ms under ideal conditions.
Beyond latency, GEO satellite has bandwidth limitations per user (typical business plans offer 10-50 Mbps with high contention ratios), high cost per GB and sensitivity to adverse weather conditions, especially heavy rain that attenuates the signal in Ku and Ka band (rain fade).
Despite these limitations, GEO satellite has been the only option for decades for connectivity in remote areas, maritime platforms and aviation. Operators such as Viasat, Hughes (EchoStar) and SES continue to offer GEO services, although competitive pressure from LEO is forcing a rapid evolution of the sector.
LEO: Low Earth Orbit Constellations
LEO constellations represent a paradigm shift in satellite connectivity. Instead of a handful of giant satellites at 36,000 km, LEO networks deploy thousands of small satellites at altitudes of 340-1,200 km. This proximity dramatically reduces latency: current LEO constellations deliver latencies of 20-40 ms, comparable to many terrestrial ADSL or 4G connections.
The three major players in the LEO market are:
- satellite_alt Starlink (SpaceX): the most advanced constellation with over 6,000 operational satellites. It offers residential and business plans with download speeds of 100-350 Mbps and latencies of 20-40 ms. The Business plan includes a static IP, traffic priority and a basic SLA.
- satellite_alt OneWeb (Eutelsat): a 648-satellite constellation at 1,200 km, focused on B2B, government and maritime markets. It provides connectivity through partners with latencies of 30-50 ms and throughput tailored to enterprise needs.
- satellite_alt Project Kuiper (Amazon): a constellation in deployment phase with 3,236 planned satellites at 590-630 km. Expected to offer full commercial service in 2026-2027, targeting both consumer and enterprise segments with integrated AWS services.
The constellation architecture works with constant handover between satellites: as one satellite moves out of the ground antenna's field of view, traffic is transferred to the next satellite in the constellation. The most advanced versions of Starlink include inter-satellite laser links that allow traffic to be routed between satellites without passing through intermediate ground stations, further reducing latency on long-distance routes.
Point-to-Point Radio Links
Point-to-point radio links are direct wireless communication links between two fixed locations using high-gain directional antennas. Unlike satellite, there are no orbital intermediaries: the signal travels directly between the two antennas, resulting in latencies of 1-5 ms for typical distances of up to 20-30 km.
Radio links operate in different frequency bands, each with its own characteristics:
- cell_tower Licensed microwave (6-42 GHz): requires a licence from the regulator (Ofcom in the UK, CNMC in Spain), but offers protection against interference. Bandwidths from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps depending on frequency and channel width. High reliability with 99.999% availability.
- cell_tower Unlicensed band (5 GHz, 60 GHz): no licence required but susceptible to interference from other users. The 60 GHz band offers bandwidths of up to 10 Gbps over short distances (1-2 km), ideal for campus links.
- cell_tower mmWave (E-band, 71-86 GHz): millimetre-wave frequencies offering bandwidths exceeding 10 Gbps with a light licensing regime. Typical range of 3-5 km, sensitive to rain fade but with availability above 99.99% in Mediterranean climates.
The fundamental requirement of any radio link is line of sight (LoS) between the two antennas, with no physical obstacles blocking the signal. This includes keeping the first Fresnel zone clear -- the ellipsoidal region around the line of sight where the signal propagates most efficiently. Buildings, trees, hilly terrain or any obstacle in this zone degrades the link or makes it unviable.
Comparison Table: LEO vs GEO vs Radio vs Fibre
The following table compares the four technologies across the parameters that most influence business connectivity decisions:
| Criterion | LEO | GEO | Radio Link | Fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latency | 20-40 ms | 550-700 ms | 1-5 ms | <1-5 ms |
| Bandwidth | 100-350 Mbps | 10-50 Mbps | 100 Mbps - 10 Gbps | 100 Mbps - 400 Gbps |
| Reliability | 99.5-99.9% | 99.5-99.9% | 99.99-99.999% | 99.99-99.999% |
| Monthly cost | EUR 110-500 | EUR 200-2,000 | EUR 100-1,500 | EUR 50-5,000 |
| Deployment time | 1-3 days | 1-2 weeks | 2-6 weeks | 4-16 weeks |
| Key requirement | Clear sky view | Clear sky view | Line of sight | Civil works infrastructure |
Use Cases: LEO Satellite Internet
The combination of low latency, rapid deployment and global coverage makes LEO the ideal choice for scenarios where terrestrial infrastructure is unavailable or unviable:
- location_away Remote offices: business premises in rural areas, industrial estates without fibre or countries with limited telecommunications infrastructure. Starlink Business can connect offices in 24-48 hours at 100-350 Mbps.
- directions_boat Maritime connectivity: vessels, offshore platforms and ports. LEO has replaced GEO VSAT as the primary option for maritime connectivity, reducing latency from 600+ ms to under 50 ms.
- swap_horiz Backup link: as a second WAN link for automatic failover when the primary fibre goes down. Technological diversity (satellite vs terrestrial) maximises resilience because the failure modes are uncorrelated.
- construction Temporary sites: construction sites, events, emergency camps. Deployment in minutes without civil works or ducting permits makes LEO the most agile option for temporary connectivity.
- emergency_home Disaster recovery: when a natural disaster destroys the terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure, LEO allows connectivity to be restored autonomously within hours. Starlink has demonstrated this capability in real-world conflicts and natural catastrophes.
Use Cases: Point-to-Point Radio Links
Radio links excel in scenarios where high capacity, low latency and full control over the link are needed, provided line of sight exists:
- domain Campus connectivity: interconnecting buildings within a single corporate, university or hospital campus. Links of 1-10 Gbps without the need to run fibre between buildings, with deployment in days.
- last_page Last mile: ISPs and carriers that need to connect customers to the nearest network node without depending on the incumbent's plant infrastructure. Licensed radio links offer carrier-grade quality for the last mile.
- apartment Building-to-building: companies with premises in nearby buildings (for example, offices and warehouse on the same business park) that need a high-capacity private network between both points without recurring carrier costs.
- forest Rural areas: extending a carrier's network to rural communities where civil works for fibre are not cost-effective. Existing radio towers can cover distances of 10-30 km with bandwidths of hundreds of Mbps.
Limitations of LEO Satellite Internet
Despite its transformative potential, LEO constellations present limitations that businesses should consider before adopting them as primary connectivity:
- cloud Weather sensitivity: heavy rain, snow and thunderstorms can degrade the signal. Although the impact is less severe than with GEO (the signal travels through less atmosphere), momentary interruptions during severe storms are possible.
- groups Shared bandwidth: the capacity of each satellite cell is shared among all users in the area. In zones with high user density, effective throughput can degrade during peak hours. There are no guaranteed bandwidth SLAs like those available with dedicated fibre.
- gavel Regulatory: not all countries have approved the operation of Starlink or other LEO providers. Regulatory restrictions, spectrum licences and data sovereignty requirements can limit availability in certain markets.
- warning Not suitable as primary datacenter link: latency variability, the absence of strict SLAs and shared bandwidth make LEO unsuitable as the primary connectivity for a datacenter. For that purpose, fibre and licensed radio links remain the only viable options.
Key concept:
LEO is excellent as a secondary, backup or remote-site link, but it does not replace dedicated fibre or licensed radio links for the primary connectivity of critical infrastructure such as datacenters.
Limitations of Radio Links
Radio links deliver excellent performance but also have inherent constraints that affect their viability:
- visibility Line of sight required: any obstacle between the antennas (buildings, trees, terrain) blocks the signal. This requires a prior feasibility study, rooftop permits and, in many cases, towers or masts that increase installation costs.
- wifi_tethering_error Interference (unlicensed band): links on unlicensed frequencies are subject to interference from other devices. In dense urban environments, the 5 GHz band can be saturated, degrading performance.
- straighten Distance limits: maximum range depends on frequency, power and weather conditions. High frequencies (mmWave, 60 GHz) offer high bandwidth but are limited to 1-5 km. Licensed microwave can cover 20-50 km but with lower capacity.
- water_drop Rain fade at mmWave: frequencies above 60 GHz are especially sensitive to rain attenuation. In areas with frequent rainfall, a larger link margin or lower frequencies are required, which reduces available bandwidth.
Datacenter Connectivity: Fibre Remains King
For primary datacenter connectivity, fibre optics remains the only technology that meets the requirements of ultra-low latency, massive bandwidth, 99.999% reliability and strict SLAs that a production environment demands. A modern datacenter consumes 10 Gbps, 100 Gbps or even 400 Gbps links with multiple transit providers and peering, volumes that neither LEO nor radio links can match.
However, LEO and radio links play a strategic role as a redundancy layer in datacenter connectivity. A Starlink Business link as an OOB (out-of-band) backup allows remote access to datacenter management even when all fibre links are down. A licensed radio link can provide a geographically diversified alternative path for critical traffic.
EasyDataHost operates a carrier-neutral network with multiple transit providers and direct peering with major CDNs and public clouds. This provider diversity, combined with redundant infrastructure, is what guarantees the high availability that colocation and Network as a Service customers need.
Practical advantage:
The most resilient connectivity does not rely on a single technology but on the intelligent combination of multiple technologies with independent failure modes: multi-path fibre, diversified radio link and LEO as the final backup layer.
EasyDataHost Network: Carrier-Neutral and Multi-Provider
EasyDataHost's network infrastructure is designed around the principles of provider diversity and carrier neutrality. Our datacenter in Madrid operates as a carrier-neutral facility, which means any operator can extend its network to our premises to provide direct service to hosted customers.
This multi-provider architecture ensures that the failure of a single operator does not affect service availability. We combine multiple IP transit providers, direct peering sessions with content networks and public clouds, and geographically diversified physical routes to guarantee maximum resilience.
- check_circle Carrier-neutral: freedom to choose your connectivity provider without lock-in.
- check_circle Multi-provider: multiple transit operators for maximum redundancy.
- check_circle Direct peering: BGP sessions with CDNs, clouds and eyeball networks for minimum latency.
- check_circle Diversified routes: multiple physical paths for tolerance to fibre cuts.
Conclusion
Business connectivity is no longer a binary question of "fibre or nothing". LEO constellations have democratised access to low-latency internet from any point on the planet, and point-to-point radio links remain the reference option for dedicated high-capacity links without civil works. Each technology has its place, and the key lies in choosing the right combination for the scenario.
- arrow_right LEO delivers 20-40 ms latency and deployment in days, ideal for remote offices, backup and disaster recovery.
- arrow_right GEO retains its niche in legacy maritime coverage and areas without alternatives, but its 600+ ms latency limits it.
- arrow_right Radio links provide 1-5 ms latency and up to 10 Gbps for point-to-point links with line of sight.
- arrow_right Fibre remains essential for primary datacenter and critical infrastructure connectivity.
- arrow_right EasyDataHost operates a carrier-neutral network with multiple providers for maximum resilience and low latency.
If you need to design a connectivity strategy that combines fibre, radio and satellite for your infrastructure, contact our team to assess the best options for your case. You can also read about the advantages of hosting in a European datacenter to understand why geographical location matters as much as connectivity technology.