German cellular connectivity firm Emnify is working with Virginia-based satellite company Lynk to bring global IoT connectivity to offshore locations.

Emnify says the partnership positions it at the forefront of a nascent revolution in IoT connectivity, with satellite and terrestrial mobile communications systems integrating into a unified network of networks to deliver more resilient, accessible and flexible connectivity.

Through this partnership, Emnify will make Lynk’s cell towers in space available to all its customers. To guarantee consistent and reliable IoT connectivity, Emnify users will be able to leverage their existing GSM or LTE cellular radio device to connect to Lynk’s satellite-based cell towers. This will be underpinned by Lynk’s global technology and managed via Emnify’s web portal and APIs.

With three commercial low-earth-orbit satellites today and more planned for the end of 2023, Lynk’s satellite portfolio will extend Emnify’s global coverage beyond terrestrial mobile networks into international maritime waters.

“Use cases such as environmental monitoring, fish farming, smart metering and asset tracking in offshore locations and international waters do not require frequent data transfer,” said Alexander Schebler, vice president at Emnify. “However, the ability to establish connectivity without relying on mobile network reception is crucial for collecting meter readings, sensor values or GPS locations of assets. This partnership marks the future of IoT connectivity, where satellite and terrestrial mobile communications systems work seamlessly together to provide more resilient, accessible and flexible connectivity. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this IoT connectivity revolution and are eager to empower our customers to realise the full value of their device fleets through their existing Emnify cloud infrastructure.”

Charles Miller, CEO of Lynk, added: “Through our satellite-based service, we will provide ubiquitous messaging with existing GSM or LTE radio user equipment. This will deliver extraordinary benefits across a myriad of enterprises in industries such as fish farming, marine biosphere research, oil and gas, offshore power generation, and others that require continued connectivity no matter where they are located on Earth. We are excited to partner with Emnify, which will make our satellite based 2G/4G radio cell towers available for all its customers worldwide. Lynk is the only company to provide patented, proven and commercially licensed technology that will ensure that Emnify customers can reliably connect in international waters, with many more global locations to come soon.”

Emnify is a cloud building block for cellular communications in the IoT stack, connecting millions of IoT devices globally from electric vehicles to energy meters, alarm systems to GPS trackers, thermometers to health wearables. The firm’s API and SIM technology connect and secure any kind of IoT deployment to its application back-end. Cloud-native integrations and no-code workflows ensure seamless lifecycle scalability for deployments of all sizes from local start-up to global enterprise. The company’s IoT SuperNetwork is said to be the largest globally distributed mobile cloud core network of its kind, supporting local network access including 2G to 5G, LTE-M, NB-IoT and soon satellite in over 180 countries from more than 25 cloud regions.

Lynk is testing satellite direct-to-standard-mobile-phone services in more than a dozen countries. It has successfully sent and received text messages to and from space via unmodified standard mobile devices. From the beginning, Lynk will enable two-way emergency messaging, emergency cell broadcast services and regular SMS messaging on every phone across the globe. By partnering with Lynk via a roaming agreement, a mobile network operator gives its subscribers ubiquitous connectivity.