Super fact 54 : Satellites currently handle a very small percentage of global internet traffic, estimated at about 1%. The vast majority of internet traffic is carried by undersea cables.
I consider this a super fact because it is surprising, true and not trivia. It is an important fact since most of us use internet every day. It is a very common belief that satellites handle most of the global internet traffic, or at least a very large portion of it. I should say that a few years ago I thought so myself.
How Much Internet Traffic is Handled by Satellites
I should say that I did not find a lot of sites that answered this question, but all of the sites that I found gave similar answers such as, less than 1%, 1.5%, 1-2%, very little, etc.
I started out by asking ChatGPT this question “How much of internet communication does Satellites handle?” The answer I got was that Satellites handle a relatively small percentage of global internet traffic — typically less than 1–2% — with most of the world’s internet communication carried through undersea fiber optic cables and terrestrial infrastructure (like cell towers and wired broadband). Wikipedia states that satellites handle less than 5% – to an estimate of even 0.5%. I should add I do not rely on ChatGPT, SGE or Gemini, or Wikipedia for this blog but I take hints from them.
According to NOAA, over 95 percent of international data and voice transfers are currently routed through the many fiber optic cables that crisscross the world’s seafloors, whilst satellites currently carry just about 1% of global internet traffic according to Research Outreach. Operations Forces Report, Space Voyage Ventures, Neterra, and Newsweek made similar claims .
The reason satellite internet is used less is because satellite internet is significantly more expensive to use than traditional wired connections. In addition, satellites have higher latency (delay) compared to fiber optic cables, and less bandwidth (data capacity). Satellite internet is primarily used in remote areas where other forms of internet access are unavailable. Satellite internet is also used for military and government operations, as well as maritime and aviation connectivity. However, satellite internet is improving so this may change in the future. This is a comparison between satellite internet and optical fiber.
The layers in the picture of the submarine communications cable above are (from outside to inside): (1) Polyethylene (2) Mylar tape (3) Stranded steel wires (4) Aluminum water barrier (5) Polycarbonate (6) Copper or aluminum tube (7) Petroleum jelly (8) Optical fibers.
Related Post
A related post and super fact is: GPS uses relativity for accuracy
Super Facts 