Trade associations look to integrate terrestrial and satellite networks

The MSSA, if you hadn’t heard of it, is a non-profit association whose founding members include Viasat, Terrestar Solutions, Ligado Networks, Omnispace and Yahsat. It describes its purpose as ‘facilitating the integration and evolution of terrestrial and satellite mobile networks to deliver scalable, sustainable, and affordable high-performance cellular-like services to any device, anytime, anywhere in the world.’

It and the GSMA will ‘explore approaches’ to integrating D2D and IoT services via satellites using 3GPP standards, and say they want to facilitate an ecosystem where interoperable systems connect terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.

One specific ambition they refer to is to enhance the efficiency and scalability of satellite comms, making deployments more cost-effective. By forging cooperative agreements with operators, ‘a new dimension of mobile services can be enabled, empowering consumers and enterprises with seamless satellite-augmented capabilities,’ we’re told.

MSSA and GSMA will pool their combined expertise and crank out some approaches and ‘technical innovations’, support new standards for sustainable network design and operations, and facilitate economies of scale, so says the release.

“This alliance with GSMA represents a bold leap forward in the evolution of mobile connectivity,” said Mark Dankberg, Chairman, MSSA. “We are joining forces to push the limits of what’s possible, bringing the power of satellite technology to millions of users globally. This is more than a partnership – it’s a revolution in how the world connects.”

Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA, added: “Our collaboration with MSSA is based on the shared objective of reaching new benchmarks for global connectivity. By combining our strengths, we are laying the foundation for a future where satellite and terrestrial networks are fully integrated to provide unparalleled service and coverage.”

Lofty statements of harmonious collaboration aside, there exists some friction between major players in the telco and satellite worlds at the moment. Last week, LEO operator SpaceX accused Vodafone, Orange, Telefonica and others of bullying in a filing to the FCC, after they jointly urged the US regulator not to relax safeguards relating to power currently protecting traditional mobile networks.

This follows from petitions by AT&T and Verizon to deny a request from SpaceX that the power rules be waivered, claiming it could create harmful interference to terrestrial mobile networks.