- Skylo positions satellite as extension of carrier networks, not a separate connectivity layer
- The company is betting on 3GPP standards, combining NB‑NTN and NR‑NTN to support everything from SOS to smartphones
- Scale, software and interoperability will determine how satellite connectivity evolves
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2026, BARCELONA — As satellite connectivity surges into the spotlight at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona and beyond, Skylo is taking a different approach from many high‑profile space players such as Starlink. Instead of building or launching satellites, the company is focused on interoperability between terrestrial mobile networks and existing satellite systems.
In Skylo's ideal world, satellite connectivity should not feel like a separate service at all, according to Parth Trivedi, CEO of the company, who spoke with Fierce Network today at MWC 2026. In his vision, satellite becomes just another cell site — one that carriers can integrate using familiar roaming-like relationships and standard interfaces rather than proprietary gateways or custom hardware.
"If we are able to make ourselves look and feel exactly like a carrier, then we can interface with other carriers through a roaming relationship," he said. "Now, roaming is both a commercial and a technical construct, and I'm referring more to the technical construct, in this case, where we can interconnect using standard 3GPP interface."
Trivedi's philosophy has shaped Skylo’s tech, which centers on software‑defined radios and a radio access network (RAN) designed to work across satellite and cellular domains. The company's goal is to minimize behavioral change not only for end users, but also for carriers, chipset makers and device vendors.
Why standards matter for satellite
Much of Skylo’s strategy hinges on its close involvement with 3GPP standards, particularly the evolution of non‑terrestrial networking (NTN). Rather than emulating LTE over satellite, the company has pushed for satellite‑aware protocols that allow devices to understand when they are connecting via space rather than a terrestrial tower.
That distinction matters for performance, reliability and power efficiency, said Trivedi. Devices with satellite context can adjust how and when they transmit, preserving battery life and improving predictability — critical for wearables, sensors and emergency services.
Trivedi describes this approach as a “standardized sky."
"Rather than making cell phones undertake a complex act of being tricked into thinking they're connecting over a cell site. We said, 'Hey, we think every layer of the networking stack should have context that you're connecting over a satellite network,'" he said. "Things will be different, right? In some cases it'll be better. Some cases will be worse. So let's make sure that the modem on your phone knows when it needs to transition over to a satellite network."
NB‑NTN and NR‑NTN working together
In Skylo's world, NB‑NTN and NR‑NTN serve different but complementary roles.
NB‑NTN, derived from NB‑IoT, is optimized for extreme reliability and low power consumption. It is well‑suited for SOS messaging, location tracking, smartwatches, automotive safety features and massive IoT deployments such as cattle trackers or utility meters.
NR‑NTN, by contrast, extends 5G New Radio into space, enabling higher mobility and richer consumer experiences. Trivedi argues that future devices will dynamically select between these protocols depending on the use case, rather than treating one as a replacement for the other.
That flexibility is increasingly important as satellite connectivity moves beyond niche use cases and into everyday consumer and enterprise applications.
From bandwidth to continuity
Trivedi pushed back on the idea that satellite success will be defined by raw throughput. Instead, it frames the next phase of competition as a "customer experience continuity race," said
Today’s satellite‑to‑cellular transitions are often “break‑before‑make,” meaning users lose terrestrial coverage before a satellite link becomes available. Instead he said Skylo is working toward a “make‑before‑break” model, where connectivity persists seamlessly across networks. In his view, satellites will ultimately be treated as a standard part of the carrier toolkit — no different from towers, small cells or Wi‑Fi offload.
Perhaps the most consequential shift, according to Skylo, is scale. Historically, satellite networks supported at most millions of devices. Cellular networks support billions, he said.
By aligning satellite connectivity with cellular standards and device ecosystems, Trivedi believes satellite can finally tap into the same economies of scale that have driven affordability and innovation in mobile networks. That convergence could reshape everything from emergency services and automotive safety to global IoT deployments — without requiring a parallel satellite‑only infrastructure.
The future of satellite isn’t about putting more hardware in orbit. It’s about making space connectivity invisible, standardized and seamlessly integrated into the networks people already use every day, he said.
Read all of our coverage from Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona here.