D2D Hurdles Include Tech Development, Regulatory Structures: Satellite Execs

Numerous challenges -- from development of hybrid antennas that work for both satellite and mobile networks, to getting chipset manufacturers on board churning out dual-network chips -- need to be met before satellite/cellular convergence arrives, satellite operator executives said Wednesday during a Global Satellite Operator's Association webinar. Sateliot CEO Jaume Sanpera said terminals that allow seamless connectivity, not just between satellite and terrestrial networks but among mulit-orbit satellite constellations, also are key. Intelsat Chief Technology Officer Bruno Fromont said satellite operators must ultimately become mobile operators, allowing roaming with terrestrial networks. While Mediatek is working on a Ku-band chip to enable higher-speed satellite broadband, the resulting terminals will have to be mass-produced to see the big drops in terminal costs that also are needed, Fromont said. Multiple speakers said direct-to-device (D2D) business models must be assessed.

One challenge already being met is regulation, at least with D2D services using mobile satellite service spectrum, EchoStar Senior Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Jennifer Manner said. That spectrum is already globally harmonized, she said, pointing to early D2D deployments using the L and S bands. D2D MSS use is just waiting for the ecosystem to catch up, she said. "It gets a little harder" when dealing with using terrestrial spectrum for D2D service, as it's not allocated for MSS use, she said. Terrestrial spectrum is more easily employed in D2D service in the U.S. than in places like Germany, whose numerous shared borders offer many more opportunities for harmful interference, she said.

A regulatory structure that requires addressing is public interest obligations such as emergency alerts, Manner said.

The 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference discussions about D2D in a wide range of bands will be "quite complex," Manner said. A big issue is that terrestrial service often isn't the only service operating in those bands or adjacent ones, with some bands already having an MSS allocation, she said. Manner said that countries where information is more controlled might opt not to allow D2D services.

In-the-works 6G standards will be the first opportunity to design something from scratch that integrates satellite and cellular, Sanpera said. It's important for satellite interests "to be at the table early" working out 6G specifications, Fromont said. He said 6G discussions so far at the Third Generation Partnership Project have focused a lot on security and using AI to manage spectrum.

The satellite/cellular convergence was enabled in large part by the falling cost of accessing space, from far-cheaper satellites to dramatically reduced bandwidth costs during the past decade, Fromont said. Mobile network operators are "hitting a wall" of serving underserved areas, and space actors increasingly are called to fill in their coverage gaps, he said. While MNOs have received sizable amounts of spectrum for years, in many cases it has gone to densifying urban areas rather than providing rural coverage, he said.