Short answer
For a fixed site with a stable line of sight, an engineered licensed microwave link can outperform LEO. LEO wins in remote regions, difficult terrain, long-distance or temporary deployments, because it needs no tower build or line-of-sight relay and activates faster.
In detail: FirstNet LEO Satellite vs Licensed Microwave Link
How the two compare:
- Infrastructure: LEO needs a clear view of the sky at your site; microwave needs line of sight to a high site or tower, confirmed by desktop and physical RF assessment.
- Speed to deploy: LEO is generally faster than new terrestrial builds; microwave installation can follow within weeks once line of sight is confirmed.
- Performance: LEO offers typical latency of around 50 to 80 ms and speeds up to 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload depending on profile; licensed microwave is carrier-grade, engineered fixed access.
- Weather: higher-frequency microwave can be weather-sensitive, and LEO can be affected by severe weather.
- Order of preference: for fixed sites without fibre, FirstNet assesses microwave before fixed wireless, LTE/5G and finally LEO.
FirstNet assesses both during feasibility and recommends the option that fits your site and resilience goals. At critical sites the two can also be combined, giving two paths that do not share fibre's trench.