Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are still in their infancy, but according to one analysis, the technology could save American households more than $30 billion per year by intensifying broadband competition. “LEO technology will offer robust internet access to underserved and rural communities lacking wired, low-latency broadband options,” says the BroadbandNow Research team. “The arrival of this emergent technology is likely to drive down monthly internet prices for hundreds of millions of Americans.”

— Internet to millions: “LEO satellites, such as the constellations planned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink project and Jeff Bezos’ Project Kuiper, promise to bring low-latency broadband internet to millions of Americans,” says BroadbandNow. (See these: Amazon’s Orbiting Infrastructure and SpaceX Satellite Internet Project Status Update  as well as status reports on other competitors OneWeb and Telesat.)

— Low latency: “LEO satellite orbit extremely close to earth, between 99 to 1200 miles versus 22,000 miles of traditional GEO satellites, which means less time to transfer information (lower latency) and a quality of service comparable to wired broadband cable and fiber providers.”

— Assuming success achieved by Elon Musk’s Starlink alone, 263 million Americans with three or fewer wired broadband providers in their area could collectively save over $14 billion through reduced monthly prices, according to the analysis. “The remainder of Americans with four or more providers could save an additional $4 Billion, pushing the savings to $18 billion. ... If both Starlink and Project Kuiper launch, the savings are likely to be even more dramatic…”