DIrect to Device connectivity is all the rage these with numerous projects. The latest announcement comes from E-Sat and Yahsat who jointly announced a successfull test on the Thuraya network. The (very) short PR simply states that the demo successfully transmitted and received relatively long messages (up to 320 characters), which is typical for IoT applications. More interesting is the transmission power – less than 200microW or 0,2mW (Note: this figure really needs to be double checked) – for a communication with a geostationary satellite.
Full article is here: https://news.satnews.com/2023/05/29/thuraya-esat-global-announce-satiot-breakthrough/?mohide=true&mc_cid=ee0b3d59df&mc_eid=8b49847537
- This is another announcement of Geo D2D communication (after Echostar and Inmarsat): can we expect other geo players to enter this game?
- Yahsat has also a partnership with Astrocast for using part of its legacy L-band for its LEO based IoT service. Does this new approach mean a change in strategy?
- The PR does not mention any protocol (except NB-IoT as “another” protocol). Does that mean that E-Sat has developped its own proprietary protocol (which is probably not the best way to commercial success)?
- This is presented as a demonstration and there is no date (at all) for commercial availability. Will there be deployments or will that stay in the lab or be sold as IP to another player?
Well, time will provide the answers and indeed, exciting times today for the space IoT world!
Curious about your comment “a proprietary protocol being the road to commercial sucess …”
Thank you for your comment, this is obviously exactly the opposite of what I wanted to say. Point taken and article modified.