LEO Satellite Network Measurements

This project conducts comprehensive measurements and analysis of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks, with a primary focus on Starlink's performance characteristics, CDN behavior, and implications for global Internet infrastructure. Our work has received the IETF/IRTF Applied Networking Research Prize (ANRP) 2025.

Overview

LEO satellite networks represent a paradigm shift in global connectivity, promising to bring high-speed Internet to underserved regions and provide backup connectivity for critical infrastructure. Understanding their performance characteristics is crucial for:

• Application Design: Optimizing applications for satellite network conditions
• Infrastructure Planning: Deployment strategies for hybrid terrestrial-satellite systems
• Policy Making: Informed decisions about satellite Internet regulation
• Future Research: Identifying open challenges and opportunities

Research Questions

Performance Characterization

• What are the latency, throughput, and reliability characteristics of LEO satellite networks?
• How does performance vary with geographic location, weather, and network congestion?
• What are the implications for real-time applications (video calls, gaming, VR)?

CDN Behavior

• How do content delivery networks perform over satellite links?
• Are traditional CDN strategies effective in LEO environments?
• How can CDNs be optimized for satellite-terrestrial hybrid networks?

Global Connectivity

• What is Starlink's actual coverage and performance in underserved regions?
• How does satellite Internet impact digital divide and connectivity equity?
• What are the deployment patterns and adoption trends?

Measurement Infrastructure

Global Vantage Points

We conduct measurements from diverse geographic locations:

• Europe: Multiple countries including Netherlands, Germany, UK
• North America: US, Canada
• Africa: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa
• Asia: Various locations across the continent
• Oceania: Australia, New Zealand

Measurement Tools

• Custom Measurement Platform: Automated testing infrastructure
• Active Measurements: Latency, throughput, packet loss
• Passive Monitoring: Traffic analysis, protocol behavior
• CDN Performance: Content delivery latency and availability
• Mobile Measurements: Performance from vehicles and aircraft

Key Findings

Latency Characteristics

• Inter-Satellite Links: Median RTT improvements when active
• Geographic Variation: 20-80ms typical latency depending on location
• Jitter: Low variance in latency suitable for real-time applications
• Comparison: Competitive with terrestrial broadband in many regions

CDN Performance

• Cache Hit Rates: Lower than terrestrial due to unique routing
• Content Delivery: "CDN in the sky" behavior with satellites acting as edge caches
• Popular Content: Faster delivery for highly cached content
• Cold Start: Higher latency for cache misses requiring ground station backhaul

Throughput Analysis

• Download Speeds: 50-250 Mbps typical, location-dependent
• Upload Speeds: 10-50 Mbps, asymmetric like cable/DSL
• Consistency: More stable than expected, minimal weather impact
• Congestion: Performance degradation during peak hours in dense areas

Global Coverage

• Africa Deployment: Rapid expansion bringing connectivity to remote areas
• Performance: Comparable to or better than existing terrestrial options
• Digital Divide: Significant potential for closing connectivity gaps
• Challenges: Affordability and terminal availability remain barriers

Impact and Recognition

Awards and Honors

• IETF/IRTF ANRP 2025: For CDN performance research
• RIPE Labs Competition: Runners-up for measurement study
• Best Poster: MobiCom 2024 for multi-perspective Starlink analysis

Media Coverage

• Rest of World News: Feature on Starlink's African expansion and impact
• Deutsche Welle: Interview discussing satellite Internet in developing regions
• RIPE Labs: Multiple articles on measurement methodologies and results

Academic Impact

• Presented at IETF 123 MAPRG: Influencing Internet standards
• RIPE 90: Sharing operational insights with network operators
• Industry Adoption: Results informing deployment strategies

Publications

1. It's a bird? It's a plane? It's CDN!: Investigating Content Delivery Networks in the LEO Satellite Networks Era Rohan Bose, Saeed Fadaei, Nitinder Mohan, Mohamed Kassem, Nishanth Sastry, Jörg Ott ACM HotNets 2024 (27.8% acceptance) 🏆 IETF/IRTF ANRP 2025

2. A Multifaceted Look at Starlink Performance Nitinder Mohan, Andrew E. Fergusson*, Hendrik Cech*, Rohan Bose, Prakita Rayyan Renatin, Mahesh K. Marina, Jörg Ott* ACM WebConf 2024 (20.2% acceptance) 🏆 IETF/IRTF ANRP & RIPE Labs Runners-Up

3. Starlink Performance from Different Perspectives (Poster) Andrew E. Fergusson, Nitinder Mohan*, Hendrik Cech*, et al.* ACM MobiCom 2024

4. Twinkle, Twinkle, Streaming Star: Illuminating CDN Performance over Starlink (Poster) Rohan Bose, Nitinder Mohan, Jörg Ott ACM IMC 2024

Current Work

Ongoing Studies

• 6G Integration: How LEO satellites fit into next-generation networks
• Multipath Transport: MPTCP and MP-QUIC over satellite-terrestrial hybrid
• Edge Computing: Satellite-integrated edge infrastructure
• Network Management: SDN/NFV for satellite networks

Future Directions

• Constellations Comparison: Starlink vs. OneWeb vs. Amazon Kuiper
• Application Optimization: Protocol adaptations for LEO characteristics
• Energy Efficiency: Power consumption of satellite terminals
• Regulatory Analysis: Spectrum usage and orbital coordination

LEO-NET Workshop Series

We co-organize the annual LEO-NET workshop on LEO Networking and Communications:

• LEO-NET @ SIGCOMM 2025: Latest research in satellite networking
• LEO-NET @ MobiCom: Mobile and wireless aspects of LEO
• Community Building: Bringing together researchers and practitioners

Topics include:

• Performance measurements and characterization
• Protocol design for LEO networks
• Application adaptations
• Network architecture and routing
• Integration with terrestrial infrastructure

Open Data and Tools

Public Datasets

We release measurement data to support community research:

• Starlink Performance Dataset: Multi-location, long-term measurements
• CDN Behavior Traces: Cache performance and routing patterns
• Geographic Coverage Maps: Performance heatmaps and availability

Measurement Tools

• Open-source measurement scripts: Available on GitHub
• Analysis pipelines: Reproducible research workflows
• Visualization tools: Interactive performance dashboards

Collaborators

Academic Partners

• University of Edinburgh (Prof. Mahesh K. Marina)
• University of Cambridge (Prof. Nishanth Sastry)
• Technical University of Munich (Prof. Jörg Ott)

Industry Engagement

• Ongoing discussions with satellite operators
• Collaboration with CDN providers
• Input to standards bodies (IETF, RIPE)

Team

Current Members

• Nitinder Mohan - Principal Investigator
• Rohan Bose - PhD Student (CDN measurements)
• Andrew E. Fergusson - Collaborator (UK measurements)
• Hendrik Cech - Collaborator (Germany measurements)

Alumni Contributors

• Multiple Master's and Bachelor's thesis students

Get Involved

Research Collaborations

Interested in satellite network measurements? We welcome:

• Joint measurement campaigns
• Data sharing and analysis
• Co-authorship on publications
• Student exchanges

Thesis Opportunities

Available topics include:

• LEO satellite performance modeling
• Application-layer optimizations
• Hybrid network architectures
• Machine learning for performance prediction

Contact

• Email: n.mohan@tudelft.nl
• Twitter: @nitindermohan
• Research Portal: TU Delft Research

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Measuring the future of global connectivity, one satellite at a time! 🛰️