Summary of SKYLO PARTNERS WITH SONY SEMICONDUCTOR ISRAEL TO DEPLOY 5G-READY NARROWBAND-IOT CONNECTIVITY OVER SATELLITE
Skylo and Sony Semiconductor Israel partnered to enable 5G-ready NB-IoT connectivity over geostationary satellite, making satellite IoT affordable and interoperable by adapting Sony's Altair cellular IoT chipsets to Skylo's hosted satellite network and contributing to 3GPP specifications to standardize NB-IoT over satellite.
Parts used in the Narrowband-IoT Connectivity over Satellite:
- Skylo hosted satellite network
- Sony Semiconductor Israel Altair cellular IoT chipsets
- Geostationary satellites
- NB-IoT protocol (5G-ready)
- 3GPP specification contributions
Narrowband-IoT Connectivity over Satellite
The partnership brings 5G-ready NB-IoT over satellite for the first time and delivers massive cost and interoperability advantages for the IoT industry
Skylo, maker of the world’s most affordable and ubiquitous network that connects any machine or sensor, today announced a partnership with Sony Semiconductor Israel (Sony, formerly known as Altair Semiconductor). With the partnership, Skylo and Sony are the first to develop and deploy cellular IoT chipsets (branded “Altair”) that can connect via geostationary satellites and that leverage the standardized, 5G-ready, NB-IoT protocol.
The partnership also makes significant contributions to 3GPP future specifications, which will help standardize and accelerate the adoption of NB-IoT over satellite. In addition, this innovative new use of Sony’s Altair cellular IoT chipsets dramatically reduces the cost for IoT applications to connect via traditional satellite networks; until the launch of this solution, satellite connectivity was cost-prohibitive and required custom-built protocols.
Skylo, which was founded in late 2017 by foremost researchers including Dr. Andrew Kalman, is building an efficient, global NB-IoT network over satellite for millions of presently unconnected devices, machines, and sensors. Sony Semiconductor Israel is a leading provider of cellular IoT chipsets. Through this partnership, both parties have extended existing cellular IoT chipsets to communicate directly over Skylo’s hosted satellite network.
- What companies partnered to deliver NB-IoT over satellite?
Skylo and Sony Semiconductor Israel partnered to deliver NB-IoT over satellite. - What chipset is used to enable satellite connectivity?
The Altair cellular IoT chipsets from Sony Semiconductor Israel are used. - Which satellite type is used for the NB-IoT connections?
Geostationary satellites are used for the NB-IoT connections. - What protocol is leveraged for the satellite IoT connectivity?
The standardized, 5G-ready NB-IoT protocol is leveraged. - How does this partnership affect satellite IoT costs?
It dramatically reduces the cost for IoT applications to connect via traditional satellite networks. - Does this solution require custom-built protocols?
No, it leverages standardized NB-IoT rather than custom-built protocols. - How does the partnership contribute to standardization?
Both parties have made significant contributions to 3GPP future specifications to help standardize NB-IoT over satellite. - Who founded Skylo and what is its goal?
Skylo was founded in late 2017 by researchers including Dr. Andrew Kalman and is building a global NB-IoT network over satellite for unconnected devices.
