Washington DC-based mobile connectivity firm Omnispace, Viasat and Lacuna Space have demonstrated a global, open standards-based IoT service that could pave the way for a range of IoT and direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services.

Omnispace demonstrated its non-geostationary (NGSO) IoT satellite connectivity at last week’s Things Conference in Amsterdam. The service offers low-power, ubiquitous connectivity worldwide for a broad range of IoT devices and markets. It uses LoRaWan, which can bridge terrestrial networks with worldwide satellite coverage.

Over the past year, Omnispace and UK and Dutch firm Lacuna Space have tested the technology leveraging Omnispace’s existing network assets outside of Europe.

“Omnispace serves a worldwide IoT market and, with our satellite and ground infrastructure partners, have a vision to deliver seamless direct-to-device terrestrial and satellite IoT connectivity to a variety of global applications and industries,” said Jay Yass, strategy officer at Omnispace (omnispace.com). “This most recent achievement helps us to show the potential of satellite IoT service on a global scale.”

Rob Spurrett, CEO of Lacuna, added: “We are pleased to continue to advance the initiative we started with Omnispace. Together, we look forward to delivering these powerful IoT services to industries around the globe.”

And Mike Kreller, senior vice president at California-based Viasat, said: “Viasat remains committed to fostering innovation and exploring new technologies with potential partners. We see high demand for our global satellite services across all bands, including an unprecedented opportunity for next generation mass IoT, direct-to-device and other 5G and 6G applications to be delivered by satellite, for which L- and S-band are ideally suited. Collaborative trials like this are an important step to create an ecosystem of partners.”

With offices in 24 countries around the world, Viasat (www.viasat.com) wants to shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate and connect. The firm is developing a global communications network to power high-quality, reliable, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people’s lives anywhere they are, on the ground, in the air or at sea, while building a sustainable future in space. In May, Viasat completed its acquisition of Inmarsat.

Lacuna Space (lacuna.space), a UK and Dutch entity, headquartered in Oxford, UK, provides scalable direct-to-satellite IoT based on the open and interoperable LoRaWan standard. The Lacuna Network enables multiple constellations of Lacuna and third-party satellites to meld together, forming a robust and field-proven IoT service.