The Internet of Musical Things Meets Satellites: Evaluating Starlink Support for Networked Music Performances in Rural Areas

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations offer a viable alternative to traditional fixed and wireless technologies, ensuring comparable speeds and latency even in rural areas. One of the applications that can be served by such types of satellite-based Internet access is represented by networked music performance (NMP) systems, which connect remote musicians and enable them to play together. Such systems are particularly relevant to communities located in rural areas, as they might lack access to local music education services, or may encounter difficulties in traveling to meet in presence for playing together. The integration of NMP system with LEO satellites could offer a viable alternative to in-person collaborative music activities, al-lowing musical stakeholders to reduce the costs for travel and the times to commute, with the benefit of zeroing pollution. However, thus far the use of NMP systems over satellite connections has been largely overlooked by the research community. To bridge this gap, we evaluate the performance of two Starlink-based communication infrastructures in supporting an NMP between two Italian cities, Trento and Verona. The first infrastructure connected two rural areas in the respective cities via two satellite links, one per terminal. The second connected one rural area in Trento to a neighborhood of Verona, respectively via a satellite link and a wired terrestrial network. Our findings clearly indicate that the performance of the current Starlink service in the tested geographical areas does not adhere to the strict latency and reliability requirements of NMPs. This calls for further research in this scarcely investigated domain at the frontiers of 6G networks.