DT and Partners Demonstrate SMS Over Satellite

Deutsche Telekom, Qualcomm, and Skylo have completed an end-to-end trial of SMS send and receipt over GEO satellite. It is the first time in Europe that an operator’s terrestrial mobile network has been integrated into a satellite network to enable texting based on the 3GPP Release 17 specifications for Direct-to-Handset (D2H) connectivity.

The standards-based operator-native NB-NTN D2H approach involves the integration of mobile operator terrestrial networks into Skylo’s non-terrestrial network to ensure ubiquitous coverage. It will allow customers in white spots without any access to terrestrial networks to send and receive text messages globally using satellite connectivity. The proof-of-concept, which was conducted in Greece at DT’s Cosmote subsidiary, marks an important step on the road to commercial operator-native NTN services for customers in Europe.

In the test, the SMS was sent from a device with a Cosmote SIM card via Skylo’s satellite network in the Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum based technically on 3GPP Release 17 specifications. The device was equipped with the Snapdragon X-80 5G Modem-RF System and integrated NB-NTN satellite connectivity.

To enable the seamless roaming of the user equipment between the 5G terrestrial access networks and satellite access networks, Skylo’s non-terrestrial network was integrated into Cosmote’s production network. The key advantage of a dedicated, licensed MSS spectrum for connectivity is that it can be used on a pan-European basis, thus circumventing the challenges of international cross-border spectrum coordination. It also ensures ubiquitous coverage for customers in areas with white spots and supports emergency communications or disaster response scenarios.