Sateliot has signed an agreement with Telefónica España to use its satellite IoT connectivity to expand Telefónica’s network in remote areas, as well as security and defense uses.
Sateliot, based in Spain, has worked with Telefónica in the past, previously demonstrating roaming between Telefónica’s network and Sateliot’s satellite network using a standard SIM card in 2023.
Under this new collaboration, the two are developing a new hybrid architecture combining terrestrial and mobile networks with Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. It is focused on solutions that use the 5G new radio non-terrestrial networks (NR-NTN) standard. The partners plan to look at integration capabilities with terrestrial 5G networks and the interoperability necessary for the military field.
“The combination of Sateliot’s satellite capabilities and our 5G SA bubble deployments will allow us to extend terrestrial connectivity into the space domain, reinforcing coverage and resilience in critical environments. This approach also lays the foundation for future direct-to-device capabilities, expanding the reach of connectivity beyond traditional environments,” Javier López Gutiérrez, director of Defense and Security at Telefónica Spain, said in a release.
To date, Sateliot has launched six satellites using 3GPP standards and plans to launch five more in 2026. The company raised 100 million euros last month to fund a 16-satellite constellation for IoT use cases and to serve as a demonstrator for 5G NR technology incorporating voice, video, and data.
