Satellite technology support for 5G network deployments is accelerating at a near supersonic rate, fueled by operators looking to more cost-effectively expand coverage, technology standards that are taking satellite connectivity into account, and revenue-generating use-case opportunities that can support the ecosystem.

This has consultants and analyst firms urging telecommunication operators to integrate satellite into their multistage network architectures.

Michael Misrahi, Americas telecommunications leader at consulting firm EY, explained to SDxCentral in an interview that this evolving landscape has turned around a market opportunity that around the turn of the century appeared to have blown up soon after launch.

“Sometimes time helps solve some of these technological solutions and sometimes breaking underlying assumptions within business models also helps catalyze that,” Misrahi said.

Misrahi cited cost efficiencies that have reduced the price of satellites, the launching of those satellites, and using past research and development as a steppingstone toward more advanced technology as now allowing satellite-supported 5G services to become a real opportunity. Use cases include using satellite instead of edge systems, being able to offload multimedia and content, and providing different backhaul options for fixed and mobile applications.

“I think when you start to apply this, and then coupled with the fact that the costs are going down and the business cases are becoming clearer, there's a lot of excitement,” Misrahi said. “Clients are reflecting that enthusiasm as are increasingly different types of investors.”

Where operators and hyperscalers fit

Misrahi linked this enthusiasm to a rash of recent low-Earth orbit satellite launches. This includes work by firms like AST SpaceMobile, Sateliot, SpaceX with its Starlink constellation, and Amazon through its Project Kuiper. These providers have been aggressively either launching constellations or moving rapidly toward deploying their systems.

These launches are in turn also drawing support from telecommunication providers. Most large telecom or mobile operators have tethered themselves to at least one of the major satellite communication players in one form or another to support different use cases ranging from basic IoT connectivity, direct-to-smartphone, enterprise services and full-blown broadband opportunities.

“We're getting more into these sovereign constellations where it's new players or players with different roles,” Misrahi said. “There's combinations happening or partnerships happening where the ecosystem is getting redefined.”

AST SpaceMobile, for instance, recently completed a test with AT&T, Vodafone and Nokia that was able to stream a 5G download data link between the satellite and a terrestrial terminal at speeds up to 14 Mb/s. This surpassed a 10 Mb/s space-to-ground link they were able to stream in June using a 4G LTE connection.

Hyperscalers are also rapidly extending their reach into the space.

Amazon earlier this month launched the first test satellites for its long-gestating Project Kuiper program. That program is Amazon’s $10 billion plan to extend broadband connectivity using more than 3,200 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which Amazon plans to start shooting off into space beginning next year with the target of having at least half of those satellites operational by mid-2026.

Vodafone recently jumped on board Amazon’s voyage, stating plans to use the constellation to expand the reach of its broadband services in Europe and in Africa through its Vodacom operations. The move followed those by other operators, including Verizon in late 2021.

Misrahi said these hyperscaler efforts make both short- and long-term sense. He explained that near-term benefits include connectivity for non-terrestrial data centers, while longer term that connectivity could move to the stars.

“We're saying things like, do we really have communications in space? Do we have computing in space? Do we have inter-satellite communications? I don't want to sound crazy, but like vacations on the moon could be possible, and those are our big dollars,” Misrahi said. “Having a presence there or at least dipping your toe in the value chain, and I think some of the tech giants are going almost end to end, it's probably a decent bet with limited downside given the immediate demand we have and the emerging demand going forward.”

Satellite standards and AI

These links are being boosted by work from standards organizations. Standards body 3GPP included an initial integration path for “non-terrestrial network” (NTN) technology in its 5G-focused Release 17 last year. It’s expected to further that integration and capability with Release 18, which is expected to be frozen by mid-2024.

“The technical standards are pulling everything together,” Misrahi noted, adding that those efforts have combined with interoperability work at a very opportune moment. “Sometimes the stars need to align, no pun intended.”

That alignment is also set to gain additional gravitational pull from the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) movement that is starting to sweep across the telecommunications space. This will become more important as the industry begins to construct 6G standards.

“I've been on the ground with the engineers trying to merge the technical limitations and advances they need to make to couple it with commercial business cases, and things like handoffs are really difficult,” Misrahi said. “If we have a cloud-native, AI-native network where a lot of that is incorporating machine learning and everything that basically relieves that burden, and make it even more interoperable with drones perhaps, it starts to get really exciting about how something might be able to optimize different wireless networks but the end user has no idea what's going on.”

But what is going on is a dynamic timing confluence that could see AI as key in allowing satellite telecommunications to become an integral part of next-generation 5G and potentially 6G services.

"I know there have been hype cycles in the past, but if you just look around and speak with someone who's involved in tech and telecom, AI is a watershed moment and it is rapidly being adopted," Misrahi said.

That adoption puts what might be the final piece in place for this telecommunications evolution, and now it’s up to the market to decide if it's ready for a steady orbit.

“I'm hoping that there's an acceleration to the concept, to capital investment, to cash, and that we all are enjoying the benefits of what the hypothetical ‘art of the possible’ is with these networks sooner rather than later,” Misrahi said. “It's potentially a perfect storm happening and satellite is right in the middle of it.”