SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) and Intelsat have recently announced the signing of a groundbreaking collaboration agreement that will power the launch of a single “ubiquitous network” that will permit clients to stay connected wherever they are.
According to Industry sources, this collaboration between SoftBank and Intelsat will jointly trigger the research and development of seamless 5G connections between terrestrial cellular networks and satellite communications networks. Under this collaboration, SoftBank and Intelsat intend to jointly develop a hybrid communications solution that will enable clients to stay connected across available networks – whether terrestrial or satellite – anywhere in the world with the convenience of a single device and a single account.
The solution builds on the same standard architectures, interfaces, and processes that permit device roaming between terrestrial cellular networks today and will help make the commercial rollout of mobility solutions based on the new 3GPP 5G standards for non-terrestrial networks a reality much faster.
“Intelsat and SoftBank share a pioneering vision of ubiquitous connectivity and seamless interoperability between satellite and terrestrial networks,” stated Bruno Fromont, Chief Technology Officer of Intelsat. “Until now, the challenge has been to align standards so that the two different networks could be connected. With recent progress in 5G-based non-terrestrial network standardization led by Intelsat at 3GPP and this strategic collaboration with SoftBank, we are ideally positioned to accelerate the development and practical implementation of commercial hybrid services that enable devices to freely move between satellite and terrestrial networks.”
Hideyuki Tsukuda, Executive Vice President and CTO of SoftBank stated, “By using a technology that roams between terrestrial cellular networks and satellite communications networks, we can integrate the two previously separate networks and use satellite communications as an extension of mobile communications. Through this joint research and development, SoftBank and Intelsat aim to build a Ubiquitous Network in which people and things around the world can be connected to communications anytime, anywhere.”
One of the core goals of this collaboration is to work and build a universal device that will always stay connected, no matter where in the world it is located. For example, a future connected vehicle equipped with such a device will be able to seamlessly switch to a non-terrestrial satellite communications network when it is out of range of a terrestrial cellular network. The envisaged solution is all set to have broad commercial applicability, including in land mobility, shipping, and disaster preparedness and recovery.
Industry sources further confirmed that design, development, field testing, and commercialization of the new hybrid network products between Intelsat and SoftBank will be conducted in phases aligned with the development of the new 3GPP 5G standards for non-terrestrial networks. The resulting hybrid solutions will enable the use of existing satellite terminals soon and newer 5G-based terminals as they become available.
