Broadband from satellites in low orbit went from demonstration to routine within a few years. Thousands of satellites now provide connectivity anywhere with a clear view of the sky, at speeds comparable to terrestrial service.
Who it actually serves
Rural and remote users first, obviously – places where running fibre is uneconomic and mobile coverage is thin. That market is real and large.
Less obviously: ships, aircraft, disaster zones, and anywhere the ground infrastructure has been destroyed or never existed. A connection that requires only a dish and power has a different failure profile from one that depends on cables and towers.
The geopolitical dimension
A network operated by one company, based in one country, providing connectivity globally regardless of local government preference. That has already mattered in conflicts and will matter more.
Governments have responded by pursuing sovereign constellations, which is expensive and slow, and by regulating ground stations, which is the point of control they actually have.
The constraints
Capacity per area. A satellite passing over a dense city cannot serve everyone under it, which is why the service is not competitive in cities and was never designed to be.
Cost, which has fallen and remains above terrestrial options where those exist.
And orbital crowding. The number of objects in low orbit has risen sharply, collision avoidance is now routine, and the coordination frameworks are behind the deployment.
What it does to terrestrial providers
Sets a floor. A rural provider offering poor service at high prices now has a competitor that arrives by delivery van. Several have improved their offering in response, which is the mechanism working as intended.