Telefónica to Connect IoT
Devices Via Satellite with 5G Technology
20 July 2022.
Telefónica and Sateliot are
collaborating in the development of an innovative
connectivity service with dual 5G NB-IoT technology
in which Sateliot's new satellite network will be
integrated with Telefónica Tech's current
terrestrial NB-IoT networks to offer IoT
connectivity wherever the customer needs it,
including maritime coverage.
The objective is to complement
Telefónica Tech's value proposition with a global
satellite service using Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
constellations to provide 5G NB-IoT connectivity.
These constellations orbit at an altitude of between
500 and 1,000 kilometres, much lower than
traditional geostationary satellites. In addition,
being compatible with 3GPP standards, it will allow
NB-IoT devices to connect seamlessly to both
existing terrestrial networks and the new satellite
network.
The architecture designed by
Telefónica Tech, TGS and Sateliot natively
integrates the satellite network with the network
nodes of Kite, the managed IoT connectivity platform
developed by Telefónica Tech with which the customer
can control and monitor their power lines in real
time and remotely from anywhere in the world through
a web portal or via APIs.
This innovative 5G connectivity
service via satellite will not require the use of
devices other than those already used in NB-IoT
connectivity and it is expected that agriculture,
shipping, wind farms, solar farms and livestock will
be the sectors that will benefit the most as they
are the ones that need coverage in remote areas.
Telefónica Tech and TGS plan to start the first
pre-commercial pilots with customers later this
year.
Carlos Carazo, Technology &
Technical Operations Director of IoT and Big Data at
Telefónica Tech, said: "At Telefónica Tech we
continue to evolve our connectivity portfolio with
the most innovative services on the market. We are
convinced that these types of solutions will help us
to consolidate our position as a benchmark in IoT
thanks to our Kite platform and other innovation
projects based on virtualisation and the deployment
of the network in the cloud. 5G satellite
connectivity access provides a standards-based
answer to IoT customers who require full coverage
using the same NB-IoT devices that the industry
already has.
Jaume Sanpera, CEO and
cofounder of Sateliot, said: “Sateliot purpose is to
make IoT connectivity available everywhere and to
everybody, and this thanks to our unrivaled
satellite constellation based on 5G standard and
with a unique cost-effective approach pricing it at
a fraction of current satellite connectivity. We
have still open our Early Access Program inviting
IoT service providers to be among the first to
profit from the service, and based on that we see a
huge market demand. The revolution in few months is
becoming a reality and I am very happy, since a
connected world is a better world”.
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