Sateliot Achieved First 5G Service Connection Integrating With KSAT Network

Hello World: for the first time, Sateliot has achieved 5G services messaging connection via the Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) commercial network, together with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Sateliot’s LEO satellite constellation seamlessly integrates with KSAT’s advanced ground network services, forming a robust system that ensures reliability, scalability, and global coverage.

A key partnership

The accomplishment was realized through the integration of Sateliot’s NB-IoT NTN Core Network, deployed via AWS, with KSATlite’s multi-mission solution, now operating as a 5G point-of-presence (PoP). In their collaboration, the PoP serves as a pivotal point for the seamless integration of ground and satellite services. This highlights the adaptability of Sateliot’s technology, demonstrating that dedicated Ground Gateways are not necessary to provide an end-to-end global standard 5G NB-IoT NTN service.

Sateliot has utilized AWS to construct a fully virtualized cloud-native 5G core for Narrowband (NB)-IoT Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), delivering flexible, cost-effective, and highly scalable narrowband solutions that support Sateliot’s end-to-end service.

Sateliot, founded in 2018, is the first satellite operator to launch a LEO satellite constellation based on the 5G standard, enabling global connectivity from space for all NB-IoT NTN devices at low costs. Back in September, on the occasion of the partnership with Comfone, we had the pleasure to interview Gianluca Redolfi, CCO at Sateliot, and dived into the pioneering services offered by the company headquartered in Spain.

Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) is a premier provider of Ground Network Services and Earth Observation Services, connecting space and Earth from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and beyond. With a global, integrated Ground Station Network of over 300 antennas at 28 sites worldwide, including a unique polar location and rapidly expanding mid-latitude stations, KSAT offers reliable space-to-ground communications.

“With KSAT, we reduce global service latency thanks to the strategic locations of their ground stations near the poles, thus allowing us to maximize daily ground contact passes.”

— Marco Guadalupi, CTO at Sateliot

Satellite-based 5G IoT connectivity for everyone, everywhere

Sateliot is targeting the growing use of IoT in industries like agriculture, maritime transport, and livestock. They aim to improve efficiency and sustainability in agriculture through stable connectivity for Precision Farming. In maritime transport, they collaborate with Sensefinity to introduce 5G IoT for smart containers, reducing cargo damage and emissions. For livestock management, Sateliot’s NTN extends connectivity to rural areas, aiding farmers in tracking animals’ health and locations.

Sateliot is a major contributor to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and especially its latest Release 17 protocol. Furthermore, the key partnership with the Swiss Comfone enables more than 450 MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) to expand their coverage with simple standard roaming agreements.

Thanks to these capabilities all commercial IoT devices will be able to switch from terrestrial to satellite network, without the use of additional expensive hardware, a limiting factor of today’s solutions offered by the standard LEO and GEO market.

Sateliot is proceeding swiftly towards the beginning of the commercial phase; the company launched its first spacecraft, Sateliot_0, in April 2023 during SpaceX’s Transporter-7 mission. In July, Sateliot and Telefonica achieved the world’s first 5G connection from space. Over the next 18 months, an additional 60 nanosatellites are scheduled for launch. As stated by Redolfi to Space Voyaging, they aim to deploy between 200 and 250 spacecraft by 2025.