The Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA) is an industry partnership made up of several NTN providers, with the goal to accelerate the adoption of 5G D2D and 5G IoT technologies over existing satellite networks. Constellations spoke with Jacques Leduc, CEO of Terrestar Solutions and Treasurer of MSSA, about the obstacles and milestones that lie ahead.
Listen to the full podcast episode, or read our four takeaways below.
Takeaway 1: Collaboration via industry groups like MSSA will be vital to D2D adoption.
Building satellite-capable D2D cellular devices will increase satellite connectivity across the world, which supports connectivity to rural, remote areas, as well as supporting emergency response in the wake of natural disasters. “There’s places where there’s no coverage, and that’s where the satellite is an access point,” said Leduc.
But this type of standardization and interoperability requires collaboration from every party on the value chain, which is where an industry body like MSSA comes in. “There’s different aspects of standardization that will be required in order to have multiple players across the value chain participate,” said Leduc, “and to make sure that, when integrated with the mobile network operators, it works in a seamless way.” MSSA also recently announced a partnership with GSMA, the industry body that represents mobile network operators, in an effort to ensure interoperability and technical collaboration.
“The real intent [of MSSA] is to be a complement of the mobile network operator,” said Leduc.
Takeaway 2: Existing handsets with limited satellite capability won’t slow widespread D2D adoption.
One argument against MSSA’s approach is that 5G D2D isn’t interoperable with existing handsets, which will slow down momentum to adoption. But Leduc considers this obstacle nothing more than “a normal evolution of service.”
“It’s true that in any new technology, you need to update your device in order to make it work,” he said. “But the device life cycle is about four years, which means that four years from now, everybody will have a device that will work with all satellite constellations.”
On the other hand, MSSA also holds some long-term advantages in the market, such as spectrum access that powerhouse constellations like Starlink don’t have. “They don’t have spectrum, and they don’t have the right to use such spectrum in all countries,” he said. An industry organization like MSSA, on the other hand, could open up new ways of acquiring and licensing spectrum between industry players.
Takeaway 3: The automobile sector is partnering with MSSA to bring D2D connectivity to cars.
“The biggest benefit will be connecting with cars,” said Leduc. Cars can quickly pass between areas with and without cellular coverage, so being able to guarantee that connectivity is crucial, and potential solutions could include putting a new antenna “on the roof to make sure that it has access to satellite.” On the day of the recording, MSSA announced a partnership with the automobile industry to collaborate on building antennas that will keep cars continuously connected.
Once infrastructures from space are capable of interfacing seamlessly with mobile network operators, D2D will eventually become an integral part of all devices and for all users. It will also solve problems of any existing holes in coverage across a wide variety of industries.
“There’s many verticals. Farmlands, pipelines, gas, asset tracking, alarm systems, I mean, the camera that we have at our lake house,” Leduc said. “There will be a lot of benefit.”
Takeaway 4: By 2028, numerous new constellations will provide connectivity comparable to current terrestrial infrastructure.
As the 5G market evolves, more attention will be shifted from narrowband emergency services to full broadband. “The natural pace and evolution of our industry is happening in the same way that we have seen 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G coming into the industry,” said Leduc. Looking forward, he predicts that D2D capabilities will sweep the industry fairly quickly.
“I expect that by 2028, we will have numerous new constellations up and running that will provide service similar to the one on the ground,” he said. Over the next few years, he also predicted that LEO operators will see a surge in partnerships, as licenses for operation are required in every country. “Not everybody has a license in all the countries around the globe, so that will require partnerships,” he explained.
These partnerships will be an opportunity for satellite and mobile operators to provide customers a better version of a crucial service. “Our cellular device today is our lifeline,” he said. “There will be a lot of usage.”
For more on 3GPP Release 18 and D2D market forecasts, listen to the full podcast episode.
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