A lower bound, not a speed promise
The simple model uses a vertical four-altitude RTT path in vacuum. Real links use slanted paths, gateways, inter-satellite links and terrestrial backhaul.
NETWORK PHYSICS CALCULATOR
Satellite Latency Calculator: LEO vs MEO vs GEO
Altitude strongly affects satellite latency. Even before routing and processing, a signal must travel from the ground to space and back; an RTT requires that propagation path twice.
INTERACTIVE MODEL
Calculate the physical limit
This is an educational lower-bound model, not an address-level performance prediction.
Why LEO can approach terrestrial latency
LEO satellites are far closer to Earth than GEO spacecraft, but the complete route and handoffs still determine application latency.
QUESTIONS
Common questions
Why does GEO have high latency?
A geostationary satellite orbits about 35,786 km above Earth, so the signal path is long even before network overhead.
Can LEO always beat fiber?
No. Geography, gateway placement, terrestrial route length, satellite path and congestion determine the result.
Formula and limitations
Vertical propagation RTT = 4 × altitude ÷ 299,792.458 km/s.
Reference constants: NIST speed of light in vacuum. Fiber propagation uses a disclosed engineering approximation of 204,000 km/s; actual group velocity varies with the fiber.