LEO (Low Earth Orbit (Satellite))

Low Earth Orbit satellites operate at altitudes from a few hundred to about 2 000 km, enabling much lower latency and link budgets than geostationary satellites. Modern LEO constellations (Starlink, OneWeb, Kuiper, Iridium NEXT) deliver broadband and voice services and are being integrated with terrestrial mobile networks under 3GPP non-terrestrial network specifications.

Categories: Protocols and StandardsInternet and Routing

LEO in context

Telecom security is written into standards from 3GPP, GSMA, ETSI, IETF and ITU-T. Understanding which body owns which specification, and how they interlock, is essential for both design and audit work.

Telecom networks depend on Internet-style routing (BGP, DNS, MPLS) for interconnect. Route hijacks and DNS abuse can degrade or intercept signaling, which is why RPKI and DNSSEC are now standard hardening for carrier networks.

To place LEO in the wider telecom-security picture, review 3G, 3GPP, A5/1, BGP, Digital Signature and GSMA Permanent Reference Documents (IR Series) — each entry cross-references back to this page so you can walk the topic in either direction.

Related terms

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