Short answer
No. Fibre remains the preferred option for speed, latency and consistency where it is available. LEO provides a strong business-grade alternative where fibre is not feasible, and an independent connectivity path alongside fibre where greater resilience is required.
In detail
How the two compare:
- LEO: typical latency of around 50 to 80 ms, and speeds up to around 150 Mbps depending on the service profile.
- Business fibre: symmetric or asymmetric and uncapped, uncontended on local on-net traffic, with dedicated options for critical sites.
- Site conditions: LEO needs a clear view of the sky and, like all satellite technologies, can be affected by severe weather.
LEO's strength is reach and independence rather than raw speed. It brings mines, farms, lodges, depots, regional branches and temporary project sites online without waiting for fibre construction, wayleaves or extensive civil works, and it supports cloud platforms, voice, video conferencing, payments, remote access and collaboration.
In FirstNet's design order, fibre is checked first and LEO is the last resort for a primary link. It is often the best choice as a backup, though, because it does not rely on terrestrial fibre or mobile towers.
Source: FirstNet LEO Satellite Connectivity service page →
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