Satellite-to-cell graphic. Photo illustration: Via Satellite

Industry group the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA) has released new strategic recommendations for standards-based and interoperable non-terrestrial network (NTN) solutions. 

This is aimed at influencing architectures for direct-to-device services in which satellites communicate with mobile phones or IoT devices for consumer services like messaging and emergency services, and enterprise IoT services.

The reference architecture, released this week, makes recommendations for developing technologies that enhance NTN performance, interoperability, and integration with terrestrial networks. The recommendations are focused on interoperability, system-level network functions, and service models. 

Viasat led the founding of the MSSA last year, and the group now includes more than 20 companies including Qualcomm, Mavenir, and Ericsson. The recommendations were developed by the MSSA Technical Committee’s Reference Architecture Work Group. MSSA expects the recommendations to support specification development from organizations like 3GPP and GSMA. 

“This reference architecture is a major step forward in shaping a cohesive and interoperable NTN ecosystem,” said Jeff Snyder, Omnispace CTO and the lead of the working group “By aligning with 3GPP specifications and addressing real-world use cases, our recommendations aim to guide industry stakeholders toward scalable, secure, and high-performance NTN solutions.”