Nordic Semiconductor, a global leader in low-power wireless connectivity technology, has successfully completed a low-orbit satellite-based IoT connection, accelerating the deployment of low-power-based global IoT.

Nordic announced today that it has achieved a significant milestone in Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) communications by successfully connecting IoT devices via LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites in collaboration with Satellite and Gatehouse Satcom.

This success demonstrates the potential of extending IoT coverage to remote locations around the globe by enabling chip-to-cloud communication between Nordic's nRF9151 cellular IoT module, Satelliot's satellite network, and the nRF cloud platform.

Satelliot successfully demonstrated the world's first direct-to-device (D2D) communication demonstration using a constellation of low-orbit 5G IoT satellites. This laid the foundation for providing reliable IoT services even in areas unreachable by terrestrial cellular networks, spanning a wide range of industries, including smart agriculture, asset tracking, and smart meters.

Nordic's nRF9151 module offers industry-leading battery life and supports both NTN GEO (geostationary orbit) and LEO connectivity. In particular, LEO-based solutions can be operated with antenna costs and power consumption comparable to terrestrial communication, and provide superior data throughput compared to GEO, enabling support for a variety of new applications.

Currently, approximately 75% of the Earth's land area is not covered by cellular networks, limiting the large-scale deployment of IoT and M2M solutions. Nordic's satellite connectivity solutions overcome these limitations and accelerate the deployment of low-power, global IoT solutions in diverse sectors, including smart agriculture, logistics, and environmental monitoring.

This collaboration, which combines Gatehouse Satcom's 5G NTN NB-IoT software, Satelliot's satellite network, and Nordic's hardware technology, is considered a significant example of accelerating the commercialization of satellite communications. Satelliot stated, "Our goal is to democratize connectivity and provide cost-effective global IoT solutions."

LEO NTN-based solutions are attracting attention as an efficient and secure alternative to private networks in various industries, including remote monitoring, global tracking, and smart agriculture. They can also provide stable communication services, particularly in rural and remote areas where infrastructure is difficult to build.

The nRF9151 module supporting NTN is scheduled to be officially available from early 2026, and Nordic and its partners plan to continue working together on commercial device testing and implementation.