Deutsche Telekom has reached one other step in international connectivity: because the world’s first cell community operator, it now permits multi-orbit roaming for the Web of Issues (IoT). The brand new resolution ensures that IoT units can transmit their knowledge worldwide— both through terrestrial cell networks or through satellite tv for pc, relying on the scenario.
Multi-orbit roaming has now been demonstrated utilizing a industrial NB-IoT system that operates throughout geostationary (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites in addition to terrestrial networks.
The answer connects Deutsche Telekom’s international IoT community (NB-IoT and LTE-M) with satellite tv for pc companies from a number of companions: Skylo, being DT’s first satellite tv for pc service supplier, supplies protection in geostationary orbit, whereas Sateliot and OQ Expertise deal with radio connectivity to LEO satellites.
“This establishes Deutsche Telekom as the leading global network operator offering IoT connectivity across multiple satellite orbits, both technically and commercially,” says Jens Olejak, the top of satellite tv for pc IoT at Deutsche Telekom IoT.
Moreover, within the second half of 2026, Deutsche Telekom’s associate Iridium’s NTN Direct will turn out to be obtainable to DT’s enterprise clients for IoT functions. Iridium’s LEO constellation, identified for its confirmed reliability and actually international protection, will additional improve Deutsche Telekom’s non-terrestrial roaming footprint.
Extra protection, extra resilience, extra flexibility
Multi-orbit combines the strengths of various satellite tv for pc sorts. As a consequence of their fastened place at an altitude of roughly 36,000 kilometres, GEO satellites enable steady protection and allow actual time, steady connections. LEO satellites, however, transfer shortly however can present higher protection at excessive latitudes and in mountainous areas, in addition to enabling decrease latency and better knowledge charges. Collectively, GEO and LEO create dependable IoT connectivity even in essentially the most distant areas.
Early Adopter Program: Prototyping the following era of IoT
After its preliminary Early Adopter Program with Skylo in 2024, Deutsche Telekom launched a second prototyping initiative for Satellite tv for pc IoT in 2025. The Multi-Orbit Early Adopter Program focuses on creating IoT options that mix terrestrial cell and satellite tv for pc connectivity throughout GEO and LEO. This system brings collectively 15 corporations and 5 analysis establishments and is supported by companions together with Sateliot, OQ Expertise, Skylo, Nordic Semiconductor and KYOCERA AVX.
Three examples from this system illustrate the added worth of multi-orbit roaming:
Distant asset administration for important infrastructure operations (Datakorum)
The Spanish know-how firm Datakorum is utilizing next-generation connectivity to help the distant operation of important infrastructure property worldwide. Its resolution permits real-time monitoring of key parameters resembling high quality, stress and system standing throughout water, vitality and oil and gasoline infrastructure—even in distant areas with out cell protection. Past monitoring, operators can remotely management subject tools resembling valves and actuators through radio hyperlinks, enhancing response occasions and operational effectivity. To make sure resilience in mission-critical environments, the answer makes use of LEO satellites as a backup connectivity layer. Datakorum has built-in terrestrial and non-terrestrial radio applied sciences right into a single product primarily based on Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF9151 module.
Maritime monitoring & EU regulation (EMA / BlueTraker):
Underneath the model BlueTraker, the Slovenian firm EMA supplies monitoring options for fishing vessels and service provider ships. “Hybrid connectivity” – the mixture of satellite tv for pc and cell networks – ensures that vessels can reliably report their place and standing even on the open sea. That is significantly essential given new EU laws: sooner or later, even small vessels underneath twelve meters in size might be required to have a vessel monitoring system (VMS) put in on board. Deutsche Telekom’s satellite tv for pc NB-IoT (NB-NTN) choice is a cheap and scalable normal resolution for this goal, enabling even massive fleets of small boats to be networked with out the necessity for costly particular know-how.
Autonomous AI-vision-sensor (MountAIn):
With IBEX, French firm MountAIn is bringing clever picture processing to distant areas that haven’t but been reliably related. Autonomous AI imaginative and prescient sensor processes picture knowledge instantly on website (edge AI) and detects occasions resembling forest fires, safety-related incidents in industrial amenities, or dangers to important infrastructure in actual time. The potential for NB-IoT satellite tv for pc connections ensures that warning messages and working knowledge are reliably obtainable even in distant areas, offering the resilience required for safety-critical functions. Since solely related standing and alarm knowledge is transmitted, the answer additionally works with a narrowband web connection.
Technical background
Deutsche Telekom and its companions validated multi-orbit connectivity on commercially obtainable normal {hardware}. Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF9151 is the primary 3GPP-compliant mobile IoT module to help terrestrial NB-IoT/LTE-M in addition to NB-NTN over GEO and LEO. In assessments, the module established a direct connection through Sateliot’s LEO satellites utilizing a Deutsche Telekom SIM card—demonstrating that roaming between terrestrial cell networks and LEO satellites works. As well as, connectivity through Skylo (GEO) is already operationally utilized by clients, whereas integration with OQ Expertise (LEO) has additionally been validated as a part of associate actions. Iridium (LEO) is at present being built-in and validated and can turn out to be obtainable later this 12 months.
For satellite tv for pc connectivity, the antennas used should help the related 3GPP satellite tv for pc frequency bands n249, n255 and n256. These frequency bands are a prerequisite for working NB-NTN over GEO and LEO satellites. Appropriate antenna options are already obtainable from producers resembling KYOCERA AVX, enabling system producers to construct on present parts at this time and develop new multi-orbit NB-IoT options.
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