Spanish telco Telefónica is working with Sateliot to bring satellite 5G connectivity to remote areas and enable application in the fields of security and defence.

Telefónica España is a major operator in private 5G mobile network services. It has signed a collaboration agreement with Sateliot, which provides 5G NTN IoT satellite telecommunications, to apply 5G NR (New Radio) technology in the space domain.

This will expand coverage to remote, maritime and unconnected areas while supporting the deployment of critical services for security and defence applications.

This collaboration focuses on the development of products based on the 5G NR non-terrestrial networks (NR-NTN) standard, enhancing current 5G NB-IoT capabilities. Thanks to this partnership, a hybrid architecture is being created that combines terrestrial mobile networks with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. This approach will extend existing terrestrial networks and 5G tactical bubbles and introduce capabilities in certain sectors.

The agreement also includes the joint development of technological pilots and 5G NR satellite connectivity functionalities aimed at critical communications, to validate interoperability between different types of networks and strengthen resilience and global coverage in complex scenarios.

Within this framework, Sateliot will contribute its satellite connectivity platform based on LEO satellites for its 5G NTN IoT telecommunications capabilities and services, while Telefónica will contribute to the adaptation of 5G NR for the defence and security sector, including integration capabilities with terrestrial 5G networks and the interoperability required for military applications.

“The combination of Sateliot’s satellite capabilities and our 5G SA bubble deployments will allow us to extend terrestrial connectivity into the space domain, strengthening coverage and resilience in critical environments,” said Javier López Gutiérrez, director at Telefónica España (www.telefonica.es). “This approach also lays the groundwork for future direct-to-device capabilities, expanding connectivity beyond traditional environments.”

Jaume Sanpera, CEO of Sateliot, added: “This alliance is a strategic step to expand 5G connectivity from space. Integrating our 5G NTN with Telefónica’s terrestrial infrastructure will enable coverage expansion into remote environments and support critical use cases, such as industrial IoT and infrastructure monitoring, as well as logistics, energy, maritime and security services. We believe this agreement will serve as a benchmark for other operators to drive convergence between satellite and terrestrial networks.”

This collaboration is not the first between the two companies. In 2023, they jointly demonstrated the feasibility of convergence between mobile and satellite networks with an end-to-end test, supervised by the European Space Agency (ESA, www.esa.int), which validated standard roaming between Telefónica’s network and Sateliot’s LEO network using a conventional SIM card, paving the way for IoT services with seamless continuity between terrestrial and satellite connectivity.

Founded in 2018, Sateliot (sateliot.space) is a satellite telecommunications company based in Barcelona. It deployed the first LEO satellite constellation under the 3GPP standard (Release 17 NTN), enabling unmodified commercial NB-IoT devices to connect directly from space. Sateliot plans to launch its next-generation Tritó satellites in 2027.