Soracom has partnered with non-terrestrial network (NTN) service operator Skylo Technologies, giving customers building IoT solutions and M2M devices access to Skylo's direct-to-device 3GPP NTN connectivity, along with the advanced capability of Soracom’s fully-virtualised cellular platform.
The combination of NTN-based NB-IoT connectivity and cloud-based IoT network management represents the next generation of IoT connectivity: highly available, highly affordable, ubiquitous, and deeply integrated with the hyperscale cloud platforms that serve as the backbone of today’s IoT.
Soracom’s fully virtualised global platform provides full MVNO capability paired with powerful connectivity management tools.
Skylo's satellite NTN lets chipsets, modems, modules, and devices designed for terrestrial networks to connect via existing satellites using the global 3GPP Release 17 standard.
While the network is grounded in 3GPP specifications, much of the development of the network operates on what Skylo refers to as the “Standards Plus” approach.
Skylo’s engineers add additional technical specifications to improve the functionality, interoperability, and ubiquity of the satellite-based network over and above the 3GPP standards, delivering an exceptional user experience.
In combining Soracom protocol conversion and authentication offloading features, the customer can also minimise the amount of data transmitted over the satellite link while maintaining integration with a cloud service of their choice.
"Combining breakthrough NTN NB-IoT network, we can enable customers to add satellite coverage to their existing hardware with minimal data overhead for hyperscaler cloud integrations," said Kenta Yasukawa, CTO and Co-Founder of Soracom.
On the partnership, Dr. Andrew Nuttall, CTO and Co-Founder of Skylo, says the aim is to empower businesses and industries to unlock the full potential of IoT, regardless of their location or infrastructure constraints, enabling real-time data access, monitoring, and control in areas not currently served by cellular connectivity.”
