When it comes to the integration of satellite and terrestrial telecom it is not all about 5G.

Constellations spoke with Yesmean Luk, senior consultant at STL Partners about the convergence between satellite and terrestrial telecom networks and key factors in collaboration leading to new opportunities, applications, and growth.

5G often takes a starring role in such discussions, and for good reason. The 5th generation standard for cellular broadband networks has highlighted the expanded role of satellite to help connect cars, ships, planes and other devices in remote and rural areas, with more than 1.2 billion 5G connections predicted by 2025.

Against that backdrop, which some see with a degree of hype, Luk views 5G as more an evolution than a revolution; that collaboration between satellite and terrestrial isn’t new and will continue to evolve and unfold in different ways.

And notably, there are other ‘incredibly hot’ opportunities where the need is now, independent of 5G. Luk said those opportunities include the need for dedicated, on-premise private networks for enterprise customers, and mission critical applications that require network connectivity without interruption.

“This is an incredibly hot area and not just for traditional MNOs (mobile network operators), but new emerging players across the entire ecosystem,” Luk said. “Customers have that pain point today. It doesn't have to wait for 5G.”

Those opportunities, while significant, will depend on how well traditional MNOs, satellite operators and the wider vendor ecosystem, can work together, Luk said.

“How do we move towards a greater ecosystem-centric world?” asked Luk, referring to how terrestrial and non-terrestrial operators and different types of companies all work together to enable those outcomes.

Easing Collaboration and the “Black Box”

Telcos have historically viewed satellite as a transport of last resort because of their lack of interoperability. Luk related how multiple players in the satellite industry have cited that as a barrier to unlocking revenue growth and preventing end-to-end orchestration as well.

“That's where the work on standards has been important,” Luk said about being able to move away from the notion of terrestrial operators seeing the satellite industry as a bit of a black box.

A Different Conversation

With 5G, and Release 17 of the 3GPP standard, Luk believes that the discussion around 5G has shifted from not just bridging the gap between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, but on how to collectively work together to address opportunities to expand the pie.

That “same pie” discussion has not been one that cellular and satellite networks have traditionally had. In many cases they speak different languages, with different terminology, which Luk said, has almost created a deterrent to collaboration.

By “opening that up,” and becoming more modular, more programmable, more disaggregated, Luk said the implications would be to integrate terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks and provide service continuity, which is key for the end customer.

Other Contributors

Convergence has also been helped along by new space entrants, such as AWS, SpaceX, Microsoft and others.

The impact of these companies, Luk noted, has been to not only raise the visibility of satellite and forge new partnerships, but to heighten the overall sense of competition and opportunities for innovation and collaboration.

Luk cited a recent Microsoft-Intelsat agreement as one example, and the use of AWS on a satellite to leverage data analytics as another, addressing a long-standing bottleneck in terms of data storage, compute and communications.

Advances with software-defined satellites and payloads and LEO constellations are also making satellites more relevant and of interest to telecom than ever before.

Whereas a GEO satellite mission would be difficult to change over its long 10-20 year lifespan, the move to more programmable and intelligent software is changing that. The ability to dynamically reconfigure elements and move beams is helping ease collaboration and overcome the barriers of the past between terrestrial and non-terrestrial.

The Payoff from Collaboration

Asked what satellite service providers can do to work more seamlessly with telcos to take advantage of 5G, Luk recommended they align their value to the pain points that traditional MNOs are trying to address today, so that satellite is seen as a tool in the toolbox they can use.

By building on the trust already established from providing backhaul connectivity in hard-to-reach areas, numerous connectivity use cases open up, from oil and gas and utilities, to agriculture, to end-to-end visibility of supply chains.

Luk said it was tricky to try to put a number on the expected gain in market share by working more synergistically with telecom, and that it was more important to think in terms of expanding the pie.

“There are a number of different opportunities that are significant, potentially in the billions,” Luk said. We've done a lot of work forecasting what the new opportunities would be, and we've gotten to that level of magnitude.”

Looking Down the Horizon

Asked about 5G’s impact on telecom over the next five years, Luk acknowledged that while 5G is a significant enabler, that “part of me thinks that 5G won't be the ‘be all and end all,’” noting there will be more interest in the applications, whether consumer or enterprise, running over networks whether terrestrial, non-terrestrial, Wi-Fi or fixed.

The opportunity for the entire telecom industry, including satellite, Luk said is about working together to enable more visibility and ubiquity across networks, “stitching together a very heterogeneous environment to make it easier for the customer.”

“We keep going back to that collaboration with multiple different players to figure out how they can truly work together in an open ecosystem to deliver those outcomes.”

To hear more about the aspects of integration between satellite and terrestrial telecom, and growth opportunities, near and long-term, click here.