Colorado-based EchoStar has begun the construction of a global S-band low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network for connecting smart devices.

This follows an agreement with Astro Digital, a designer, manufacturer and operator of small satellite systems, for the construction of the mobile satellite service (MSS) network.

Astro Digital will manufacture the satellites for the constellation, which will deliver global IoT, M2M and other data services beginning in 2024. EchoStar will operate the constellation from its Australian subsidiary, EchoStar Global.

“This agreement represents another step forward towards our goal of a global non-terrestrial 5G network,” said Hamid Akhavan, CEO of EchoStar. “With our engineering ingenuity, our service delivery expertise and our spectrum rights, EchoStar is uniquely positioned to offer worldwide S-band satellite services to help meet the insatiable demand for complete and constant connectivity.”

The 28 satellites in this constellation design will feature a software-defined radio with onboard storage and processing to power smart two-way device connectivity. The satellites will be enabled with the LoRa protocol for connecting very low-cost, long-lived devices.

With support for 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) services, the constellation will serve as a foundation for EchoStar to engineer 5G New Radio (NR) based NTN capabilities according to 3GPP release 17 specifications.

“These new capabilities will fill a gap in the connected ecosystem, greatly expanding worldwide IoT interoperability,” said Josh Williams, managing director of EchoStar Global Australia. “Our team, together with Astro Digital, has already begun integration of our Australian-based operations to bring to market a truly global solution with consistent and reliable network performance.”

Through its subsidiary EchoStar Mobile, EchoStar also operates an MSS network in Europe using the geostationary EchoStar XXI satellite, which should interoperate seamlessly with the new LEO constellation.