Minutes of the 2023-09-27 IAB Technical Discussion

1. Administrivia 

1.1. Attendance 

  Roman Danyliw (IESG Liaison)
  Dhruv Dhody
  Liz Flynn (IETF Secretariat)
  Wes Hardaker 
  Cullen Jennings
  Mallory Knodel 
  Suresh Krishnan 
  Cindy Morgan (IAB Executive Administrative Manager)
  Tommy Pauly 
  Colin Perkins (IRTF Chair)
  Alvaro Retana 
  Christopher Wood 
  Greg Wood (IETF Director of Communications and Operations)
  Qin Wu 
  Jiankang Yao 


Regrets:
  Lars Eggert (IETF Chair)
  Mirja Kühlewind (IAB Chair)
  David Schinazi


Guests: 

  Ed Birrane
  Joanna Kulesza 
  Mike Puchol
  Dan York

Observers:

  Toerless Eckert
  Judith H
  Erik Kline
  Mark McFadden

1.2. Agenda bash and announcements 

2. Technical Discussion: Satellite Networking

  Dan York, Joanna Kulesza, Mike Puchol, and Ed Birrane presented 
  a panel discussion on Satellite-based Internet Access. Dan York 
  began by introducing the system components and interest in low-
  earth orbit satellites (LEOs). There is demand for low-latency, 
  high speed connections that support real-time communication 
  without the high cost and long latency of traditional satellite 
  Internet access. There are some deployment challenges, namely 
  that SpaceX is currently the only provider currently operating 
  at scale and smaller launch providers are emerging, but not at 
  scale. 

  Mike Puchol showed a visualization of Starlink's current 
  constellation of satellites that simulates capacity and 
  coverage. Gaps in the current constellation mean that traffic 
  sometimes has to travel quite far, increasing latency. 

  Joanna Kulesza presented slides on an Internet Society 
  Foundation Research Grant Program titled "Global Governance of 
  Low Earth Orbit Satellite Broadband." The project provides a 
  research-based narrative on the need to endure sustainable 
  international policy for Low Earth Orbit satellites and Internet 
  access. There are many civil society questions about LEOs, for 
  example: which national laws apply; which data is collected and 
  who can access it; how safe and reliable is it? International 
  laws are not very specific and national laws vary. There are 
  many open policy questions to consider and many concerns from 
  various stakeholders. ISOC surveyed its chapters and the 
  community would like to see LEOs used for the benefit of all end 
  users, with access and data privacy the two main priorities. 

  Ed Birrane spoke about the inter-planetary side of LEOs. A space 
  network is a combination of space expertise and Internet 
  expertise. Terrestrial best practices are not incompatible with 
  space-agency-centric views; the question is how to evaluate 
  technical debt and where there should be innovation.

  Cullen Jennings asked if LEOs are likely to replace terrestrial 
  access for a large percentage of Internet users. Dan York 
  replied that overall, most LEOs have higher latency than fiber 
  connections; some users might have faster connections with 
  satellites, but not everyone. Additionally, geopolitical factors 
  will likely get in the way of widespread usage. 

  The IAB thanked the panel for their presentation. The slides 
  presented will be posted in the Datatracker.



3. Next IAB Meeting

  The next IAB meeting will be in one week, on 2023-10-04.