Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are no longer a futuristic idea — nor are they a separate, specialized product offering. Instead, mobile operators and satellite operators are partnering, and integrating NTNs into mainstream mobile strategy. At NTN Forum 2025, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel on Shaping the Standard: NTN Integration in the 5G-Advanced and 6G Landscape. From the discussion, one thing was clear: standards are critical if NTNs are to succeed in meeting the needs and expectations of mobile users.
As we’ve said before, NTNs are not a silver bullet, and initial deployments are limited to texting services at this time. More than this, the significant costs involved in creating and launching satellite technology cannot be understated. However, standards will help the technology mature, which is vital for it to succeed in augmenting traditional terrestrial networks – providing additional coverage and resiliency for low-data requirements like texting. And ultimately, once the technology stabilizes around a common set of standards, this should slowly reduce costs.
The need for NTNs
While operators work to improve their networks, the reality is that not-spots persist. These areas of poor coverage are often in rural or highly remote locations, where building out traditional terrestrial coverage is challenging (and costly). Based on Opensignal data, even in some of the most advanced mobile markets, we see our users spending 0.5-1% of time with no signal.
While this seems like a small percentage, this can translate to large swathes of land with spotty or limited coverage. NTNs offer a potential solution to this. NTNs use satellites to provide mobile connectivity, rather than traditional cell towers — similar to how Starlink provides internet services. However, due to the much smaller antennae on mobile phones, there are more significant limitations on the capabilities that NTNs can offer. Despite this, even a low-speed, reliable service that could appeal to those who live, work or travel to areas where coverage is scarce.
One of the main applications — at least in the early days — is for emergency connectivity both in these not-spot areas, as well as when terrestrial networks go down. Allowing first responders to connect is something we’ve already seen — SpaceX did during the 2024 hurricane season. However, broader application of the service would allow not just emergency response personnel, but also civilians trying to stay in contact with relatives and emergency services. As Nicolas Chuberre, Technical Group SES Vice-Chair at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), one of the key bodies involved in the development of telecoms standards, noted during our panel discussion: “This isn’t just about coverage extension. It’s also to achieve other goals, like improving the overall resilience of the network, because we know how critical mobile communications are.”
The potential benefits of NTNs (better and more resilient global connectivity) are clear, and early demand certainly appears to be there — 1.8 million users signed up for T-Mobile’s open beta in the United States. Though it's a promising first foray, it’s worth noting that this is less than 1% of the adult U.S. population, and indicates just how early we are in the adoption curve.
However, to move us from initial hype to a mature offering, the industry now has to grapple with the questions of implementation: will the revenue from services support the investment; how can NTNs integrate seamlessly with our terrestrial networks; and what portion of valuable spectrum should be given over to these new networks?
NTNs in 5G Advanced and beyond
The good news is that work is well underway to move NTNs from specialized satellite connectivity providers to integrated parts of the mobile ecosystem. Standardization is a key part of bringing that to life.
As we move towards 6G, the goal is for NTNs to be part of what Nicolas called “a harmonized, single radio interface – optimized for both terrestrial network and non-terrestrial network deployment scenarios.” Unlike current services that need separate equipment and subscriptions, this would mean connectivity on users’ existing devices, delivered alongside their existing network access.
However, it’s clear that the path to this ubiquitous and streamlined connectivity is not a straightforward one, and many organizations need to collaborate to achieve this vision.
The importance of terrestrial and non-terrestrial network integration
A key part of the development of NTNs is to ensure the ability to maintain sessions while devices move — both from terrestrial networks to non-terrestrial and then within a non-terrestrial environment. This is a big focus of Release 19, which moves from NTNs being supported alongside existing networks to better unite the two. Adnan Khan, Director of Advanced Technology Marketing at Anritsu, emphasized the importance of this, stressing that inconsistent handover behavior between terrestrial and satellite links risks fragmenting user experience, increasing costs, and slowing adoption.
We’ve seen on terrestrial networks that inconsistent performance directly leads to churn. With that in mind, it stands to reason that ensuring a consistent, reliable user experience on NTNs, and hybrid terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks will be a critical part of ensuring ongoing public interest. This will be a key part of turning that initial curiosity into actual commercial demand.
The challenge of spectrum in NTN
Spectrum is a finite resource, and a big part of the TN/NTN integration comes from using the right spectrum bands for the job, and ensuring harmonization without interference. Abhijeet Masal, Principal Research Engineer at the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWIT), pointed out that spectrum is a “tricky” issue due to its combination of geography, politics and primarily national-level orchestration. However, getting spectrum harmonization right is critical for enabling a “scalable, global device and network ecosystem”. How mobile operators and satellite manufacturers end up sharing the load of spectrum ownership and usage remains to be seen – with news that SpaceX is buying EchoStar’s AWS-4 and H-block spectrum in the United States being hot off the press at the time of writing.
AI’s role in bringing NTNs to life
It seems impossible to have a conversation in the telecoms industry today (or really any industry) and not mention AI – and NTNs are no exception. As Dr. Peng Tan, Principal Engineer - Network Innovation and Standards at Skylo, noted in the panel: “Looking ahead to 6G, AI and machine learning will be even more crucial”. In particular, he drew attention to AI applications like managing multi-satellite handover decisions, and managing beam hopping dynamically in response to real-time demand.
This focus on integrated AI extends beyond network design and deployment. As Adnan pointed out during our discussion, alongside the inclusion of new AI-driven network components, we need a standard for implementation of these components, and then a way to test it to ensure the capability is working as expected.
AI is crucial not because it’s trendy — but because it enables faster, more flexible network management based on real conditions rather than predictions. Dynamic beam hopping, predictive handovers, and real-time interference mitigation all benefit from AI models that are robust, transparent, and interoperable. But without shared standards for AI behavior, operators risk building “black box” systems they can’t trust — or test.
Closing thoughts
With what seems like more news every day about movers and shakers in the NTN space, it’s clear we’re reaching the point where NTNs move from proof-of-concept to production. And as we heard from our panel, standardization is the backbone of this process. In addition, once there is greater agreement on implementation criteria, this should help to control costs during a period where the revenue model of NTNs is unproven.
There’s significantly more work to be done not just to improve NTNs integration within existing networks, but to enable more demanding services like voice calling and data. Getting to that point requires that we get the standards, spectrum allocation, and test infrastructure right. Abhijeet hit the nail on the head about the need for a common standard for NTN – without one, “we’ll end up with market fragmentation, high cost of deployment and ultimately a poor user experience.”
From here, it will be interesting to see how NTNs evolve and these standards move from theory to practice. In particular, I’ll be looking to measure performance from the user’s perspective, to understand what these standards deliver in the real world, and enable mobile and satellite service providers to see how their technology shapes up in the face of real use.
The editorial views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Opensignal.
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