Fucino Space Centre, Italy, Aug. 20, 2020: MediaTek has successfully launched field trial in advanced IoT 5G satellite communications, transferring data through Inmarsat’s Alphasat L-band satellite in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) 35,000 kilometres above the equator.
According to a press release by MediaTek, the results of the field test will be contributed to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)’s Rel-17 standardization work on Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), which is part of its overarching initiative to establish 5G standards toward new use cases and services.
The new 5G satellite IoT technology established a bi-directional link from MediaTek’s satellite-enabled standard NB-IoT device to a commercial GEO satellite, breaking new ground for a truly global IoT coverage, claimed MediaTek. It added that the successful field test “builds the foundation for hybrid satellite and cellular networks to enable new ubiquitous 5G IoT services at a global scale.”
“MediaTek’s collaboration with Inmarsat will accelerate industry efforts to converge cellular and satellite networks in the 5G era. MediaTek is a leading connectivity provider and contributor to 3GPP standards, and our ongoing work with Inmarsat GEO satellites will help drive 5G innovation across verticals like IoT,” said Dr. Ho-Chi Hwang, MediaTek General Manager of Communication System Design in a written statement.
MediaTek is the world’s 4th largest fabless semiconductor company and Inmarsat is a leader in global, mobile satellite communications. The two companies ran the test with a base station located at the Fucino Space Center in Italy and developed by Taiwan’s Institute for Information Industry (III). The test device, built with MediaTek’s satellite-enabled NB-IoT chipset, was located in Northern Italy. The prototype system successfully established a communication channel and data transfer with the GEO satellite ‘Alphasat’.
The successful test could provide proof as to the feasibility of new global standards and open market potential of using a single device for connecting both satellite and cellular networks.
Image credit: MediaTek