Virginia-based Omnispace has demonstrated a 5G NB-IoT system over an S-band non-geostationary orbit satellite.

The satellite company was helped by Danish firm Gatehouse Satcom, a provider of communications software for the satellite industry, and Nordic Semiconductor, a specialist in low-power wireless connectivity.

This milestone is said to prove the viability of satellite-based 5G NB-IoT communications using NGSO satellites and transparent payload architectures.

As part of the demonstration, a 5G NB-IoT signal was successfully transmitted over the Omnispace F2 NGSO satellite. The trial demonstrated the successful transmission and reception of data by five terminals served by the Omnispace satellite.

The project builds on the groundwork laid during Omnispace and Gatehouse Satcom’s initial feasibility study, and represents an advancement in enabling standards-based 5G IoT services over non-geostationary satellite based non-terrestrial networks (NTNs).

“This demonstration marks a key step in making global, seamless 5G IoT connectivity a reality,” said Ram Viswanathan, CEO of Omnispace (omnispace.com). “Working with Gatehouse Satcom and Nordic Semiconductor, we are demonstrating what’s possible for the future of global communications including powerful NGSO satellites that seamlessly integrate with existing 5G terrestrial cellular networks.”

The demonstration used Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF9151 low-power SiP module with an integrated LTE-M and NB-IoT modem, It is designed for enhanced connectivity over satellite or NTNs, and will support a wide range of 5G NB-IoT use cases, ensuring compatibility with emerging 3GPP standards for current and future satellite-integrated networks.

“Nordic is pleased to collaborate with Omnispace on integrating our nRF9151 module into a pioneering achievement for NB-IoT connectivity over MEO and S-band,” said Kristian Sæther, product director at Nordic Semiconductor. “This breakthrough enables low-power IoT devices to connect via satellite in remote or infrastructure-limited areas, supporting use cases such as asset tracking, remote monitoring and industrial IoT. We are excited about the potential of this to accelerate global IoT adoption across industries that rely on resilient and true global coverage.”

Jesper Noer, vice president at Gatehouse Satcom, added: “We’ve engineered our 5G NTN NB-IoT NodeB to operate across GEO, MEO and LEO, and this demo with Omnispace proves its adaptability under real NGSO conditions. It’s especially exciting to see the software perform in S-band, where transparent payload architectures introduce new technical dynamics. Omnispace brings a strong vision for interoperable global coverage, and we’re proud to help turn that vision into practical, standards-based progress.”

Satellite-enabled NB-IoT should unlock a host of reliable, cost-effective IoT services across sectors such as smart agriculture, utility metering, environmental monitoring, asset tracking, remote infrastructure and logistics.

Gatehouse Satcom (gatehousesatcom.com) is a Danish software company delivering protocol stacks and test tools for 3GPP-compliant satellite communication. Specialising in NTNs, including 5G NTN NB-IoT and New Radio (NR), Gatehouse supports transparent and regenerative satellite architectures. The company collaborates with satellite operators, device manufacturers and integrators to accelerate the development and deployment of global, standards-based satellite connectivity.

Norwegian firm Nordic Semiconductor (www.nordicsemi.com) specialises in low-power wireless connectivity technologies, including cellular IoT (NB-IoT and LTE-M), NTN, Dect NR+, Bluetooth Low Energy, ANT+, wifi, Matter, Thread and Zigbee.