Photo: ST Engineering iDirect

The satellite communications industry is at a pivotal moment of transformation. As the terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks converge to form a unified ubiquitous network, open standards, interoperability, and multi-orbit solutions are reshaping the landscape. In this context, ST Engineering iDirect is positioning itself as a leader in enabling this new era of connectivity.

In this interview with Via Satellite, ST Engineering iDirect CTO Sridhar Kuppanna and Vice President and Senior Fellow, Engineering, Shravan Kumar Gaddam, share their insights on the company’s vision for multi-orbit, multi-access, and multi-vendor ecosystems, and how their innovations are paving the way for a more flexible and future-proof satellite communications infrastructure.

VIA SATELLITE: Multi-vendor interoperability is an interesting topic that has been talked about for many years. While ST Engineering iDirect has been very vocal about moving in this direction, is the community moving en masse here?

Kuppanna: The satellite communications industry has long been characterized by proprietary systems and siloed architectures, which, while effective in the past, have struggled to keep pace with the rapid advancements in technology and the growing demand for flexibility. However, the landscape is shifting. The adoption of 5G standards for interoperability and the increasing reliance on APIs for integration across diverse platforms are driving a fundamental change, enabling operators to mix and match vendors to create more agile and innovative solutions.

Gaddam: I come from a telco background, with more than 25 years of experience, so I’ve seen how things evolve. Back then, telco operators were locked into proprietary hardware and software, making it difficult to adapt or innovate quickly. If you wanted to do something new, the development cycles were just too long. That’s changed now, with Telco’s increasingly adopting multi-vendor architectures for greater flexibility and market agility.

We are seeing the same thing is starting to happen on the satcoms side too. You should be able to split architecture and network functions, to give operators more flexibility in their decision making. Over the past few years, there has been a significant change in the way operators think. They want more independence. They want to be able to swap, pick and choose vendors in the network. Previously, it was just about providing one solution. For vendors, this is leading to greater innovation and at an accelerated time to market and for Operators, there are huge benefits to go down this multi-vendor, multi-orbit path. 

ST Engineering iDirect CTO Sridhar Kuppanna

Kuppanna: What’s going to drive this shift even further is the adoption of 5G technology. As we move toward 3GPP Release 19, we’ll see a lot more activity around multi-vendor integration and interoperable solutions.

We’re already seeing these requirements from our strategic partners in the form of RFPs. For instance, separating the user equipment (UE) and the ground segment so one vendor can supply the UE, and another can handle the ground hub. That means interoperability between vendors is becoming a priority, even on the management and orchestration side. At the end of the day, this transformation is inevitable. Once the 5G NTN architecture, with its standardization and APIs, becomes more widespread, multi-vendor ecosystems will take off. It’s not just a possibility — it’s where we’re all headed. While it will take a few more years to fully materialize, we’re seeing the first steps right now.

VIA SATELLITE: Given the attention to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations, why are multi-orbit solutions an attractive alternative to LEO-only offerings?

Gaddam: Multi-orbit systems allow us to harness the unique advantages of each orbit. Geostationary Orbit (GEO) offers unmatched reliability, Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) brings high capacity, and LEO provides a latency advantage. While LEO has strengths, it isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. For example, government and enterprise applications often require a level of reliability and coverage that LEO alone cannot deliver. A multi-orbit approach combines these strengths to deliver a more comprehensive solution. By integrating these orbits, we’re able to address a wider range of use cases and better meet the diverse needs of our customers.

Kuppanna: A multi-orbit approach delivers resilient, cost effective solutions by leveraging intelligent application aware orchestration, that ensures that we take advantage of the strengths of each orbit.

VIA SATELLITE: Has there been a change in mindset among your peers and others? We have seen in the past that industry has been slow to change from proprietary solutions to a more open approach. Is it different this time?

Gaddam: It’s different this time. Previously, I wasn’t part of the satellite industry, but I’ve been following it from my telco perspective for the past 20 years. From what I’ve seen, there hasn’t been much standardization historically due to the dominance of proprietary systems and the complexity of integrating diverse technologies. That’s starting to change now with broader efforts from groups like 3GPP, the WAVE consortium, and the DIFI standards. What’s exciting is how this broader, more collaborative approach isn’t just limited to ground infrastructure. Satellite manufacturers and operators are also thinking about what kinds of payloads they can deploy to interoperate with the ground systems starting with the move to software-defined satellites and microGEOs. With this ecosystem approach, the scale and pace of these changes being adopted by the industry are remarkable.

We’re seeing strong engagement across the board. Standards bodies are taking active roles, and the level of participation is significant. There’s a real recognition now that terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks need to work together cohesively. For that to happen, we need standards to bridge that gap, and these collaborative efforts are making it possible.

VIA SATELLITE: We have talked a lot about having more open, flexible ecosystems in the multi-orbit era. Where is ST Engineering iDirect on this particular journey?

ST Engineering iDirect Vice President & Senior Fellow, Engineering, Shravan Kumar Gaddam

Gaddam: From both a solutions and platform perspective, we are setting a benchmark in building an open, interoperable ecosystem grounded in standardization and collaboration. We’re developing Intuition, our cloud-native ground system, which embodies this vision of flexibility. Intuition incorporates features such as dynamic orchestration and resource management to advance these goals. The growing collaboration within the satcom industry is breaking down silos and enabling operators to freely select the vendors and solutions that best suit their needs. Through our adoption of 3GPP standards, they will be able to mix and match various components from different vendors ultimately enabling interoperability.

 Kuppanna: Our commitment to open architecture means operators can deploy our software along with other vendors on off-the-shelf hardware, promoting accessibility and scalability. We are actively engaged with the WAVE consortium to standardize the hardware used for software-defined modems and hub architectures. This effort ensures multiple waveforms can be deployed across shared hardware, driving interoperability at the modem level.

VIA SATELLITE: We are seeing an uptick in government/defense spending and countries increasing their budgets here. How do you view this market for multi-orbit offerings and solutions? Do you feel this is the number one growth market in the near future for multi-orbit solutions?

Gaddam: Definitely, yes! If you look at the constellations already deployed, many are GEO and regional in nature. For the defense sector, which requires autonomy and secure, localized networks, GEO remains an effective solution. LEO, while valuable for certain specific use cases, doesn’t provide the constant connectivity and reliability needed for sovereign or regional networks. We believe the defense and enterprise sectors will be key adopters of multi-orbit solutions because they can strategically blend GEO for always-on, reliable connectivity with LEO for applications that demand lower latency. By leveraging multi-orbit orchestration, service providers can select the most cost-effective and efficient orbit to meet the demand of any application. For sovereign defense networks, this combination delivers the ultimate balance of reliability, security, and performance.

Kuppanna: Based on the engagements we’ve had with customers across the globe, the defense sector clearly stands out as one of the strongest growth markets for multi-orbit solutions in the near future. The demands we are seeing for secure or sovereign networks align perfectly with what multi-orbit capabilities offer.

At our recent European Milsatcom Summit, the overwhelming interest reaffirmed this trend, with discussions revolving around open ecosystems and calls for standardization. These aspects, enabled through multi-orbit solutions, resonate deeply within the defense industry. Organizations are prioritizing flexible, secure, and interoperable solutions, and multi-orbit systems meet these needs, making them a natural fit for the evolving requirements of government, defense, and enterprise sectors.

VIA SATELLITE: ST Engineering iDirect has been prominent here and providing solutions such as Intuition. What kind of traction have you seen so far with Intuition? How will Intuition continue to evolve to meet the needs of customers?

Kuppanna: We’ve recently been presenting our Intuition system to customers across Asia, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. It aligns perfectly with new requirements from software-defined satellite operators. Our roadmap is steering them towards solutions that are more resilient, scalable, and cost-effective. Customers are seeing how these advancements can provide reliable performance while addressing their growing operational and technological needs.

One standout area of Intuition is the innovation on the hub side. By moving to a cloud-native architecture, our infrastructure is proving to be significantly more cost-efficient, reducing server infrastructure by nearly 50% while also offering a much higher level of scalability than previously possible. The cloud-native architecture also enables cloud-based deployments on public cloud platforms in the future, for even more scalability. This is providing customers with a more competitive solution than they’ve had access to before.

Another key aspect of Intuition resonating with customers is our focus on the standardized, multi-orbit, multi-access vendor solutions we’ve been discussing here. There’s a clear appetite in the market for this kind of ground system, and one-use case generating a lot of excitement is our hybrid roaming capability. Historically, satellite networks haven’t been able to deliver seamless roaming among different networks or different providers, leaving them fragmented. What sets us apart is our plans to enable roaming between our satcom networks (non-3GPP) and 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) 3GPP networks and even 5G terrestrial networks (5G TN). Bringing these network types together is a game changer.

VIA SATELLITE: Why are features such as traffic optimization and routing; dynamic resource orchestration; orbit switching and dynamic bandwidth management making such a difference?

Gaddam: With multi-orbit, multi-vendor networks, it’s all about allocating bandwidth precisely and cost-effectively, ensuring resources go where they’re needed without waste. That’s where our proven Global Bandwidth Management, Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities, and Unified Traffic Optimization stand out. These are key differentiators for us, enabling smooth integration between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.

Orbit switching, as we are doing today for Viasat’s GX network – switching from GEO to HEO, adds another layer of flexibility, letting operators adjust to customer needs without any service interruptions. Together, these enhancements give operators a level of flexibility, efficiency, and responsiveness that traditional networks just can’t match, helping them stay agile and deliver better service in today’s fast-changing market.

VIA SATELLITE: Could you explain the significance of new 5G NTN functions such as the Interworking Gateway Function that you announced? Why would such a function make a difference to customers?

Gaddam: This function is a pivotal step on the path to 5G, but it is a starting point—not the end game—for operators to evolve into a comprehensive 5G NTN solution while maximizing their existing infrastructure. The first track of this transition is enabling access to the 5G infrastructure using existing satellite infrastructure including terminals. Our Satellite Interworking Gateway Function acts as a bridge, connecting our satcom systems, so non-3GPP networks to the 3GPP ecosystem. From a 3GPP network perspective, these non-3GPP elements seamlessly integrate as network components.

For customers, the end goal is to create a unified system. Whether they’re working with satellite endpoints or 5G endpoints, they’ll have an integrated backend that delivers consistent performance.

This solution is especially important for customers managing smaller, distributed networks, as well as large-scale satellite operations. Think about the millions of endpoints already deployed on vessels, oil rigs, and planes. Replacing these modems every time there’s an upgrade is both costly and time intensive. By using the Interworking Gateway Function, we can integrate these existing modems into the 5G network, making them functionally equivalent to 5G endpoints. This offers our customers a way to modernize without the heavy burdens of replacement costs, downtime, or operational complexity.

Kuppanna: Our focus has always been on delivering multi-orbit, multi-access, and multi-vendor solutions. If you look at the telecom industry’s adoption of 3GPP standards, the evolution began at the core and evolve to the edge, eventually extending out to multiple access points like Wi-Fi and LTE.

Our strategy mirrors this progression, moving from the core to the edge. The Satellite Interworking Gateway Function is critical in this context, as it allows non-3GPP endpoints to interconnect and operate seamlessly with the 5G core.

VIA SATELLITE: Finally, what is next on the technology roadmap for ST Engineering iDirect to enable this multi-orbit, multi-access, multi-vendor future?

Gaddam: From an innovation standpoint, 5G is the next major milestone. Our goal is to ensure operators can fully leverage their existing infrastructure as they transition. That’s why we’re focusing on non-3GPP access and legacy satellite networks as the starting point. From there, the progression is toward integrating 5G NTN capabilities.

A significant part of this evolution is hybrid roaming, which allows seamless movement across multiple networks — not just within homogeneous networks. You won’t be confined to one platform or one vendor; instead, you’ll have the ability to roam freely across diverse networks. In parallel we will be introducing AI-driven applications. These will be groundbreaking for areas like global bandwidth management. Leveraging AI and ML, we’re developing intelligent controller functionalities that optimize network performance, enabling operators to adapt and make real-time decisions with unprecedented precision.