I wouldn’t have expected an opening keynote at the telecom industry’s largest event to discuss the shortcomings of 5G—yet that’s exactly what happened at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, and by no less than one of the top executives of a major mobile industry association.
Mats Granryd, the now-former director general of GSMA, openly acknowledged that the industry hasn’t yet seen economic benefit from 5G adoption, identifying standalone 5G and the enterprise services it enables as the solution.
However, the advanced capabilities enabled by 5G SA, such as network slicing and enhanced mobile broadband, can only deliver value to an enterprise if it can reach that enterprise, and terrestrial networks are not ubiquitous. Satellite is a key missing piece of the 5G puzzle.
Release 17 of the 3GPP 5G standard defines protocols for integrating non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) into the 5G communications fabric, paving the way for a global, heterogenous 5G network that can deliver lucrative digital services—such as autonomous operations, digital twins and real-time performance monitoring—to any enterprise, anywhere.
Next-generation software-defined satellites are designed to be cell towers in space, with beams that can be shaped and steered on demand, enabling bandwidth to be delivered when and where it’s needed and adjusted to meet specific service requirements. A 5G NTN ground system provides back-end processing for the cell tower, routing traffic from satellites in orbit to the 5G core network to support the seamless delivery of digital services to any location.
The split between what is done on the satellite and what is done on the ground is based on the orbit and the network design. When combined, they provide the missing piece of the 5G monetization puzzle.
Partnering with satellite operators that have invested in next-generation space and ground assets—including a standards-based ground system that is purpose-built with the flexibility and scalability needed to support 5G services—opens the door for terrestrial operators to broaden their enterprise reach and start seeing a real return on their 5G investments.
