Customers looking for satellite connectivity are often forced to choose between one provider or another. Those days are over.
CA-based managed connectivity provider Contrivian announced a new product today—Contrivian Constellation—which combines Amazon Leo and Starlink connectivity into one solution, offering customers both services under a single data plan, contract, and IP address.
How it works: While most multi-network systems operate on a primary/secondary structure, which can sometimes take seconds to switch connectivity providers when there’s an outage, Contrivian Constellation’s approach is designed to ensure outages are avoided altogether.
The Constellation uses the company’s Lighthouse technology to continuously measure performance over both networks and steer traffic to the best performing link, allowing seemingly unbroken coverage even if one network drops out.
“Satellites come and go. There’s obstructions, and the connectivity can change second to second…if we’re on this call and the video stopped five times because satellites are dropping out, or I’m in a moving vehicle with obstructions, that’s not a great experience,” Contrivian CEO Grant Kirkwood told Payload. “So the trick is putting them together, but treating them equally, [and] having them both operating in parallel.”
The Constellation can be deployed using Contrivian’s portable, battery-powered, connectivity platform—called Horizon—which is designed for mobile operations. The system is intended to provide quick connection to government agencies, emergency response teams, and enterprise operators in remote and maritime environments.
Four bars: About 70% of Contrivian’s customers base is public sector users—federal, state, and local governments, emergency responders, or fire safety crews—where outages have the potential to cause life threatening situations, according to Kirkwood.
Governments are increasingly looking to diversify their connectivity infrastructure, building a suite of fiber, 5G fixed wireless, and satcom connections. Contrivian, which has long provided redundancy in wired fiber connections, is now positioning itself to offer further redundancy at the satcom layer in a single system.
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In a world where regulatory filings can feel dull and dry, this case brings the drama—and the snark. Let’s walk through how these two satcom mega constellations are publicly dueling in a governmental arena.
How it started: In early March, Amazon Leo sent a petition to the FCC, urging the office to deny SpaceX’s application to build a million-sat constellation in LEO. Amazon’s argument is that SpaceX’s orbital data center proposal provides “only the barest outline.”
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