As enterprises strive to deploy smarter and more secure private 5G networks, some are finding that the key to unlocking the full potential of mobility may be in orbit.
Private 5G networks differ from public mobile services in that spectrum and infrastructure is owned and operated by enterprises themselves rather than by mobile network operators, which means greater control, lower latency and higher reliability for the businesses that use them. While terrestrial infrastructure forms the backbone of these networks, satellite connectivity is becoming an integral component of private network architectures, expanding the reach, enhancing the resilience and enabling intelligent traffic routing in private 5G deployments.
Satellite connectivity is becoming an integral component of private network architectures.
“Private 5G is about enabling customized wireless connectivity for enterprises,” said Andrew Cavalier, senior analyst at ABI Research. “Where satellite plays a role is in connecting those networks when they operate at the edge or beyond the reach of terrestrial coverage. It acts as an extending link—essentially a piece of fiber in the sky.”
Hybrid Connectivity and Asset Tracking
The most immediate and impactful implication is the ability to extend private 5G coverage to areas traditionally deemed unfeasible for terrestrial fiber or microwave deployments. Remote mines, offshore oil rigs, vast agricultural lands, disaster zones and maritime vessels can now leverage private 5G because of satellite connectivity.
One approach comes from Globalstar, which combines satellite assets with terrestrial spectrum and a distributed radio access network (RAN) platform. Globalstar’s strategy in private 5G is driven by the combination of its Band 53 spectrum (a 2.4 GHZ spectrum band that is exclusively used by Globalstar) and the XCOM Labs RAN system. This distributed MIMO technology allows antennas and radios to be spread out in an area of coverage, with a central processing unit removing interference and converting it into additional capacity.
“With this system, devices connect to multiple radios simultaneously, forming a super cell that eliminates handoffs and turns interference into usable capacity,” said Mersad Cavcic, chief product and marketing officer for Globalstar.
Globalstar can deliver private 5G networks with both terrestrial and satellite coverage—an appealing proposition for enterprises with dispersed or mobile assets.
“If we have a customer that does IoT in some sort of mining or similar application, we’re going to start with XCOM RAN and band 53 in terrestrial mode,” Cavcic said. “But if they have all of this heavy machinery and it’s moving around, instead of costly investments to expand the reach of private network to be able to track these things, we simply connect it through the satellite network.”
“We’re talking to agricultural companies,” he said, describing environments where vehicles and equipment require real-time tracking and control. “By combining those two network technologies—private wireless on one side and then satellite on the other side—we can uniquely position enterprises to be more effective.”
Cavcic said the targets for that augmentation of private 5G could be any enterprises that have costly equipment and other assets that regularly move around, which includes the military.
“Satellite becomes important for military applications when you have drones and other assets moving that require a low probability of intercept and a low probability of detection.” —Mersad Cavcic, Globalstar
“Satellite becomes important for military applications when you have drones and other assets moving that require a low probability of intercept and a low probability of detection,” he said. “Giving them that satellite connectivity while they’re away from a central location is really important.”
From Redundancy to Routing Intelligence
Software control is what is allowing satellite links to take a more prominent role in private 5G traffic management. Enterprises can define routing policies that prioritize real-time or mission-critical data on low-latency terrestrial networks, while offloading less sensitive traffic over satellite.
“You might route low-latency, mission-critical data over terrestrial 5G and send less time-sensitive data over satellite,” Cavalier said.
“You might route low-latency, mission-critical data over terrestrial 5G and send less time-sensitive data over satellite.” —Andrew Cavalier, ABI Research
This model is especially relevant in remote areas with partial terrestrial coverage but where network reliability remains a challenge. Cavalier said that while most implementations are still in the pilot stage, the technology is maturing rapidly.
“We haven’t seen a lot of fully commercialized, intelligent multi-network deployments yet,” he said. “But as SDN and orchestration platforms mature, the ability to route traffic based on real-time conditions will become a norm, not a novelty.”
Intelligent Routing and Disaster Recovery
While Globalstar focuses on integrating terrestrial and satellite infrastructure, SES is developing solutions that lean on its multi-orbit satellite constellation. The company partnered with AI software firm Quvia to co-develop a platform that orchestrates connectivity across GEO and MEO satellites, as well as terrestrial links. This system allows traffic to be routed dynamically based on latency, throughput needs or user-defined business rules.
“It’s more than just switching when something goes down,” said Sergy Mummert, a retired SES executive who continues to consult for the company. “We’re talking about quality-of-experience optimization across multiple networks.”
Mummert pointed to a disaster recovery use case for the Taiwanese government as an example of how satellites are taking on a more strategic role in private 5G networks, moving from backup to backbone in mission-critical environments.
In a collaboration between SES, Microsoft and Pegatron, Taiwan’s emergency management authorities rolled out a mobile, satellite-enabled private 5G network designed for disaster recovery. When terrestrial infrastructure fails due to natural disasters or other disruptions, the system can restore secure, high-throughput communications within hours.
The network architecture combines Pegatron’s Open RAN base station, Microsoft’s 5G core and SES’s O3b MEO satellite terminals. In field trials, it delivered symmetrical 50 Mbps links with latency under 185 milliseconds—enough for real-time Microsoft Teams video, 4K surveillance feeds and cloud-based coordination tools.
This approach demonstrates that MEO satellites, when integrated with edge compute and standard 5G infrastructure, can support demanding use cases beyond traditional backhaul.
“We’re moving from a world of monolithic self-contained networks to interoperability.” —Sergy Mummert, consultant to SES
“We’re moving from a world of monolithic self-contained networks to interoperability,” Mummert said. “The question for the industry is, how do all these different specialty networks interoperate?”
The Device Dilemma and Spectrum Fragmentation
While the technical promise is clear, deployment at scale requires harmonization in spectrum use and device support. Globalstar’s Band 53 is supported by chipsets from Qualcomm and GCT, for example, but it is still gaining traction, which could pose a challenge for enterprises deploying future-proof private 5G systems.
“Globalstar is working with chipset partners to future-proof hardware,” Cavcic said. “It’s about building in Band 53 now so enterprises aren’t forced to rip and replace when they expand globally.”
Device ecosystem maturity is just one of the gating factors in the broader adoption of satellite-enhanced private 5G. The lack of standardization in network interoperability has the potential to add cost and complexity, which gives many potential adopters pause.
SES is responding to that challenge by offering a range of service tiers, from basic satellite backhaul to fully isolated sovereign network slices. This modularity allows enterprises to experiment with satellite-enhanced connectivity without committing to full-scale integration upfront.
“Not every enterprise wants or needs a fully sovereign network,” Mummert said.
For its part, GSMA, which develops and oversees standards for the mobile industry and facilitates collaboration between mobile operators, satellite operators, technology vendors and enterprises, is working to foster the integration of satellites into the 5G ecosystem and make sure satellite capabilities and non-terrestrial network (NTN) architectures are incorporated into 5G specifications.
GSMA’s NTN community has a mission of promoting terrestrial and NTN integration and “accelerating seamless interworking and handover,” according to GSMA. For private 5G, that means facilitating the best networking options for enterprises, said Barbara Pareglio, a senior technical director at GSMA who leads the organization’s NTN community.
“Private networks require certain performance levels, and enterprises expect them to be guaranteed. That’s why you need the combination of both satellite and terrestrial networks.” —Barbara Pareglio, GSMA
“It’s a matter of being able to provide the most optimal connectivity,” Pareglio said. “Private networks require certain performance levels, and enterprises expect them to be guaranteed. That’s why you need the combination of both satellite and terrestrial networks.”
Redefining Satellite’s Private 5G Utility
The evolving role of satellite in private 5G is changing the way enterprises think about connectivity not as a backhaul or backup utility, but as a dynamic and adaptable resource.
“We’re no longer just talking about satellites as failover,” Mummert said. “They’re becoming foundational to how we design next-generation private networks.”
The addition of satellite connectivity to private 5G environments is part of a larger transformation in enterprise networking.
The addition of satellite connectivity to private 5G environments is part of a larger transformation in enterprise networking. As applications become more latency-sensitive and cloud-native, the traditional model of network planning—centralized, static and built around fixed infrastructure—no longer holds. Instead, enterprise mobile networks are becoming more adaptable to workload demands, environmental conditions and business priorities.
The convergence of private 5G with space-based infrastructure represents a rethinking of network resilience, flexibility and how traffic can be prioritized.
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