The O3b network is not intended to provide service in the polar regions. Its satellites orbit along above the equator and are not visible from the polar regions.
There are sufficient satellites in the O3b network to
provide continuous service in the intended service area, plus and minus either way from the equator, and there are at least 2 visible satellites above the horizon at any time.
See this page and picture
http://www.satsig.net/africa/algeria/vsat-installer-o3b-algeria.htm
Each earth station site has two tracking antennas.
My animation only shows a limited number of satellite. In reality there are more satellites around and above the equator, always moving eastwards.
Beyond the north and south extremes of the 24/7 coverage area, satellites will be visible for short periods and further north or south, not visible at all. Run the simulation and look to see where are the north-south latitude limits of the coverage. Experiment by increasing or reducing the simulated satellite height.
The key advantage of the O3b network is its
low latency (low time delay) due to its lower orbit distance as compared with geo-stationary. Latency affects the standard two-way internet protocol, making web pages slower to load. For geo satellites special protocols are used to speed up web pages and downloads. A web page may suffer second or so initial delay and then suddenly the whole lot comes quickly.
O3b is similar to terrestrial fibre, both with regard to short latency and also very high speed bit rates. It is attractive to ISPs serving towns, communities, large cruise ships etc.
Best regards, Eric.