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Exact impact of satellite handovers on Starlink outages

Determine the exact impact of satellite handovers on network outage occurrence and duration in SpaceX Starlink Low Earth Orbit satellite networks, explicitly quantifying the conditions under which handovers succeed or fail as functions of satellite load and the number of candidate satellites.

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Background

The paper investigates live streaming over Low Earth Orbit satellite networks and identifies frequent outages correlated with satellite handovers. Prior work has shown Starlink schedules UE–satellite link reallocation every 15 seconds, but the authors note that the precise consequences of each handover on connectivity are not established. They collected 3,755 outage events and modeled their distribution but emphasize that a unified pattern explaining handover outcomes has not been identified.

Understanding the causal mechanisms and conditions under which handovers succeed or fail is crucial for improving adaptive bitrate control and outage prediction in live streaming over Starlink and similar LEO constellations.

References

However, the exact impact of satellite handovers is still unknown, as the success or failure of a handover depends on complex factors such as satellite load and the number of candidate satellites. To the best of our knowledge, the precise impact of these handovers is still under exploration, and no unified pattern has been identified.

— Robust Live Streaming over LEO Satellite Constellations: Measurement, Analysis, and Handover-Aware Adaptation (2508.13402 - Fang et al., 18 Aug 2025) in Section 2.2 (In-Depth Analysis of Network Outage)