Uses of Low Earth Orbit satellites that make business, not just technical, sense

For many enterprises, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is now part of a practical, diverse connectivity strategy. In our work with global enterprises, we’re seeing many different uses of Low Earth Orbit satellites and some that may even surprise you.

The central LEO use case is about diversifying the network to mitigate business risk, extending the reach of your network, and speeding up deployment without compromising on performance. Today, global enterprises are putting LEO to work to ensure business continuity, gain agility, and control costs.

What types of companies use Low Earth Orbit solutions?

The most common LEO use cases are tied to ensuring business continuity across every site and service. From headquarters to branch offices, to temporary site rollouts, LEO is providing a layer of network diversity and automatic failover that’s keeping international enterprises online and their teams productive.  

Enterprises from all industries are implementing LEO for redundancy regardless of location. We’ve seen LEO satellite connectivity used by financial institutions to diversify infrastructure to avoid outages, logistics giants to keep trucks online between distribution hubs, manufacturing and mining companies using them to ensure uptime for high-risk, high-reward facilities. Even multinational energy and agriculture companies are using LEO to balance continuous connectivity, cost, and climate responsibility.

6 uses of Low Earth Orbit satellites

These six real-world examples of Low Earth Orbit satellite uses show how enterprises are already deploying LEO connectivity.

1. Backup connectivity for business continuity 

This year’s IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Expereo, Enterprise Horizons 2025, Technology Leaders Priorities: Achieving Digital Agility highlighted the importance of backup connectivity for resilience, with 61% experiencing financial impacts from unplanned network downtime. 

This is where LEO is proving to be an invaluable insurance policy. When fiber goes down, LEO kicks in automatically as a failover, keeping operations online. And with downtime costing some enterprises upwards of 1% in revenue, that level of redundancy sees significant return on investment.

For example, we've seen LEO uptake as a backup for subsea cable failures. These incidents are rare, but when they hit, they hit hard. Enterprises with critical inter-regional operations are adding LEO for automatic, high-speed failover. It’s especially valuable where landing station options are limited or undersea infrastructure is aging. LEO adds transport diversity without touching your MPLS or SD-WAN overlay. It offers a simple and effective insurance policy.

2. Fast deployment and installation

In regions where trenching or fixed-line installation would take months or you simply need faster deployment, LEO can be installed and activated in a matter of days. This use case highlights a broader trend: LEO being used not for scale, but for strategic gaps where short deployment timelines and operational independence matter more than bandwidth. 

Additionally, the speed of installation also complements its use as a part of a business continuity strategy. You can react very quickly to disruption with LEO, whether from natural disasters, regional instability, or last-minute changes in project scope.

3. Cost-effective remote site connectivity

In many remote or offshore locations, think oil refineries, mining operations, or temporary construction sites in isolated areas, the only available connectivity has been GEO satellites, notorious for high costs and painful latency. LEO can be used to connect remote sites with high-speeds and low latency. That means improved performance and decreased costs. 

Everyone stays productive and online, which is good for the business as well as the employees as they can stay in touch with their families online when away at remote or offshore sites. The impact this has on morale and wellbeing can’t be understated. 

4. Replacing legacy access with LEO to support uptime 

Enterprises with sites in extremely rural areas often have to rely on a mix of copper DIA and 3G mobile networks. Performance is unpredictable, costs are high, and outages are common. LEO satellite connectivity is being integrated within existing, legacy infrastructures quickly and easily to cut unnecessary spend and maintain uptime and performance. The impact of a remote production site going offline can be in the thousands per minute, so having a backup connectivity solution is becoming critical.

5. Reducing environmental impact and aligning with ESG goals

The IDC InfoBrief also revealed that almost half of enterprise technology leaders feel that their networks need the most attention and investment to help make their IT more sustainable. And from what we’re seeing, LEO satellite connectivity is being used as a way to achieve those goals.

Enterprises are using LEO to avoid disrupting local environments for digging trenches to lay fiber. That means:

• No months-long installation projects.
• No disruption to the local environment.
• No added emissions or carbon offset costs from machinery.

This approach is particularly useful in markets with aggressive sustainability mandates or limited public infrastructure cooperation.

6. Mobile in-vehicle connectivity 

Logistics companies are experimenting with LEO-enabled terminals mounted directly on vehicles. This allows continuous data transfer while trucks move between facilities, improving route efficiency and operational visibility.

While mobile uses of Low Earth Orbit satellites aren’t supported universally today, we are working with hardware providers to enable in-vehicle LEO connectivity for fleets. It’s just one more way businesses are redefining the Low Earth Orbit satellite uses landscape.

LEO, an essential part of your network strategy

If you’re evaluating what Low Earth Orbit satellite uses make sense for your enterprise, start by contacting Expereo. Our fully managed LEO connectivity solution means we handle everything, giving you all the upside of LEO without the operational overhead. 

Our managed services for LEO include network design, integrating into your existing network infrastructure and strategy, recommendations on set up by site, Starlink hardware order, delivery and installation, and flexible data packages to ensure you get the exact connectivity outcome you need. It’s:

• Purpose-built for resilience: Because downtime isn’t optional.
• Fast to deploy: No permits, no trenching, no long lead times.
• Reliable in harsh or remote conditions: From high heat to deep winter.
• Flexible: Use it for backup, primary access, or as part of a hybrid design.

If you want the speed and agility of LEO without the complexity, Expereo delivers.

Looking for resilience and always-on connectivity?

Whether you need to keep your business connected and networks resilient, provide high-speed, low-latency connectivity wherever it’s needed, the LEO use cases are multiplying. And with the right partner, you can turn this connectivity solution into your next business advantage.

Get in touch to discuss your needs.