Direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity generated considerable excitement at last month's Mobile World Congress with a plethora of announcements from operators. (See Orange among first partners for Vodafone, AST satellite JV; Eurobites: Deutsche Telekom goes with Starlink for satellite fill-in.)
Mobile operators are teaming up with satellite players in their droves, both for mobile broadband connectivity and increasingly D2D services, in order to extend the reach of their 5G networks to far-flung corners of the world.
According to a recent overview of the 5G market by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), this trend is only set to grow. In the meantime, 5G New Radio (NR) non-terrestrial network (NTN) standards are also evolving to support a standardized approach to integrated 5G and satellite service offerings.
During a webinar titled "GSA Snapshot: 5G networks, spectrum & devices," Joe Gardiner, market analyst at CCS Insight and a member of the GSA research team, said GSA figures to March 31 show that 97 operators in 70 countries have announced they are investing in satellite D2D technology.
More partnerships have been unveiled subsequently, including in Japan (SoftBank and Starlink) and Costa Rica (Starlink with Liberty Costa Rica and Kölbi).
"There's a lot of interest in this area, but there's also a lot of interest and movement towards 3GPP standards, and the convergence of the terrestrial and the non-terrestrial standards map" starting with 3GPP Release 17, Gardiner observed.
He pointed in particular to Skylo, which is following a standards-based approach and already has D2D partnerships with operators such as Orange in France, Verizon and Vodafone IoT. (See Orange set to claim European satellite first; Skylo's trajectory toward the 'standardized sky' looks to include multiple orbits; MWC2026: Skylo makes universal connectivity a reality; Vodafone IoT teams with Skylo for satellite connectivity.)
"Other players are [also] looking to use the standards-based approach, and looking to purchase the spectrum that's compatible with the standards," Gardiner said.
He pointed here to the recent announcement by Amazon that it has signed a deal to acquire satellite specialist Globalstar, and "part of the reason that took place was because of the spectrum assets that Globalstar has." (See Amazon nets Globalstar for $11.5B, signs new Apple pact.)
Gardiner added that a "lot of trials are taking place that are looking at the next stage of the standards, Release 18 with 5G NR NTN services."
For instance, he referenced the trial announced by the European Space Agency (ESA), together with Airbus Defence and Space, Eutelsat OneWeb, and industry partners in November 2025.
In addition, Spain's Sateliot is following the standards-based approach and has launched a Series C financing round to raise €100 million (US$117 million) to help fund the deployment its IoT-focused 5G satellite constellation. (See Eurobites: Sateliot seeks €100M in Series C funding for space-based 5G push.)
"We expect more trials like this to take place over the next few months and years," Gardiner said.
He also noted that there is a "movement towards using mobile satellite services (MSS) spectrum," although the drawback with this spectrum is the current lack of compatible mobile devices on the market.
5G advancing at pace
Meanwhile, Ian Fogg, a research director at CCS Insight, who also works within the research team at the GSA, provided a brief overview of 5G developments to date, including the ongoing move towards 5G standalone (SA) and 5G Advanced networks.