ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Last week, the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) hosted Connect (X) in New Orleans, a conference widely attended by wireless infrastructure providers. The 2023 event marked the first time conference organizers developed a track dedicated to satellite, highlighting the growing interest in space-based connectivity.

The inaugural CellSat Forum at Connect (X) brought together senior-level decision-makers, board members and investors from both the satellite industry and terrestrial telecommunications. Organizers plan to host the forum again in 2024 and anticipate even greater participation.

“We’ve seen significant interest in satellites from our attendees—and also the reverse,” said Jason Nelson, WIA’s Vice President of Partnerships and Development, referring to the satellite industry’s interest in terrestrial networks. “Connect (X) presents a unique opportunity for those worlds to come together and identify opportunities.”

Panel discussions covered introductory concepts in the satellite industry, satellite IoT, direct-to-device connectivity, the satellite-cellular convergence and addressed the issue of satcom as a competitor or complement to terrestrial networks. Conference organizers told Constellations that the forum reflected attendees’ interest in understanding how satellites can extend network coverage and how it will affect the future of wireless network infrastructure.

Talking to Each Other, Not About Each Other

CellSat Forum panelists spoke to Constellations after the conference to reflect on the openings they saw for increased engagement and education between the industries. According to several panelists, attendees at the Connect (X) CellSat Forum were roughly split between those who were familiar with satellite and those who were not. Because satcom networks are typically siloed from wireless networks, the dialogue helped bridge the gaps in knowledge between the industries.

“Instead of two industries talking about each other, they were talking to each other,” said Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Analytics, who spoke on a panel about satellite services as competition or complementary to wireless.

Many of the questions posed to panelists throughout the event centered on how satellite capabilities could contribute to wireless networks. Audience members asked about satellite capacity and how it compares to fiber or microwave for cellular backhaul. There were also questions about the impact of 5G NTN standards, how satcom could improve wireless networks and the difference between GEO and NGSO capabilities. Satellite and wireless participants were eager to engage in discussion, but there was still room for each to better understand the other’s needs, capabilities and prospects.

“Educating the market is important to ensure MNOs [mobile network operators] and other wireless companies understand how satcom can benefit their businesses,” Henry noted. “Chronic concerns about high costs, limited bandwidth, and network complexity from satcom persist in the wireless sector. These are areas where the satellite industry can do better, and in doing so would gain more customers.”

New Capabilities Changing Old Perceptions

For wireless providers more familiar with satellite, the forum offered a chance to discuss changes in the industry, including new capabilities and ways it has become simpler to adopt satellite solutions.

“Historically, satellite service providers have been burdened by three perceptions when working with the wireless industry: 1. Too expensive; 2. Too little throughput; and 3. Too difficult to work with,” said David Meltzer, Secretary General of the Global VSAT Forum (GVF)—which recently combined with the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA). Meltzer moderated a panel on sat-to-cell connectivity.

While these issues have been true of the satellite industry in the past, there has been a concerted effort to address them in recent years. High and very high throughput satellites (HTS and VHTS) in GEO have increased satellite capacity and helped drive down Mbps costs, while tending to lower the price of satellite backhaul. LEO broadband constellations have proven effective for mobility and extending connectivity to areas where fiber is unavailable or cost prohibitive. Advances in antenna and terminal technologies have contributed to a more competitive landscape for broadband and mobility services.

Satellite network operators have also begun to embrace terrestrial standards, like 5G and Carrier Ethernet, as well as terrestrial technologies, like software-defined networking and cloud-native architectures. This has helped establish a baseline of network interoperability.

“I think the eyes of a lot of people in the wireless industry will be opened when this progress has been explained,” Meltzer added.

Meeting Wireless Demand

The inclusion of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) in the Release 17 of the 5G standards has gone a long way in bringing together satellite and terrestrial telecommunications within the 5G ecosystem. Opportunities for collaboration are expanding in areas like satellite backhaul, IoT, direct-to-device connectivity and broadband. There is also more dialogue through organizations like 3GPP and the ITU and venues like Connect (X) and Mobile World Congress.

Still, challenges remain. While MNOs and other wireless providers have been excited about the prospects of sat-to-cell connectivity, they are also concerned that current technology only supports SMS.

Additionally, technology changes happen faster in terrestrial networks and at a scale that dwarfs the current customer base for satellite, raising questions about whether satellite will be able to keep pace and scale to growing demand. According to Ericsson, mobile data traffic per smartphone is projected to increase threefold by 2028. The continued expansion of 5G networks will also drive an ever-greater need for cellular backhaul capacity.

“Mobile companies need to make sure satellite companies understand their demand drivers,” explained Tom Stroup, President of the Satellite Industry Association.

At the same time, satellite service providers also need to present a clear picture of their current capacity and how they plan to scale to meet future needs.

“Being able to provide efficient service today is not necessarily going to be satisfactory three to five years from now,” Stroup continued. “There needs to be a discussion not just about capacity and cost today but how that’s projected in the future.”

The Right Business Model

There are also unanswered questions about how both industries will benefit from collaboration. For the wireless community, finding the “business model for potential partnerships” continues to be an obstacle in working more closely with satellite service providers, according to Nelson.

“Satellite service providers are just starting to capture revenue streams from connectivity and the size of the addressable market is still uncertain,” he noted. “Can satellite and terrestrial partnerships significantly increase that market? Time will tell and we are excited to help convene those participants.”

Carissa Christensen, Founder and CEO of BryceTech, agreed that the business case is still being developed. The main barrier to deeper partnership “is probably that satellite operators and wireless service providers are still exploring what working together means,” she explained. They are still “trying to determine where there are opportunities for leverage and shared success, and where there may be concerns about lack of compatibility or misaligned business goals.”

There is also a real fear of competition. Even though most satellite network operators see their service as a compliment to terrestrial connectivity, not a replacement, it continues to be a question. Concerns about competition become the most acute when it comes to spectrum. Though it barely came up at the satellite portion of Connect (X), spectrum use, spectrum sharing and spectrum rights represent a very real and historically contentious battleground.

“Both industries need this finite natural resource and each has fought to retain and expand their spectrum rights,” said Meltzer. “Whether it is through a deep partnership between major players within both industries, or even through M&A activity, a rational and fair allocation of spectrum rights needs to happen. Today, the battle sometimes comes down to which industry can scream the loudest to the regulator. That is neither rational nor fair.”

Despite some friction, there is recognition that space will play a critical role in expanding cellular coverage beyond the reach of towers and fiber optic cables. Ongoing discussions at 3GPP indicate that satellite will be incorporated even more deeply into 5G Advanced and 6G networks, suggesting collaboration between terrestrial and space industries is a matter of “when, not if.”

“I don’t see any barriers that are insurmountable at this point,” Stroup said. “I think the number of announcements that have been made by satellite companies and mobile operators is indicative of what we’re going to see over the next several years.”

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