Alaian Satellite Co-Investment & Biz Dev Session: Connecting space infrastructure with the future of Telecom

For massive IoT, one of the biggest challenges remains simple: how do you connect devices in places where terrestrial networks do not reach?

Sateliot is approaching this through the integration of satellite connectivity with standard mobile technologies.

The shift is enabled by 3GPP Release 17, which introduced support for non-terrestrial networks (NTN). Rather than requiring proprietary satellite technology, compatible cellular devices can connect through satellite infrastructure.

This opens up possibilities for sectors such as agriculture, energy and utilities, logistics, mining, oil and gas, aquaculture and environmental monitoring particularly in applications where devices are widely distributed and do not require continuous real-time connectivity.

Sateliot’s model is built around a growing satellite constellation operating in low Earth orbit. Devices can remain in a low-power state and wake up when a satellite pass provides an opportunity to transmit data, an approach designed to make satellite IoT more practical for battery-powered devices.

As the constellation grows, the frequency and availability of connectivity can increase as well, moving satellite IoT closer to the expectations of terrestrial networks.

For telecom operators, the interesting question is not simply how to add satellite coverage. It is how satellite connectivity can become another layer of the mobile network.

What if the cloud could extend into orbit?

The second perspective takes the conversation from connectivity to computing.

Alatyr is exploring the possibility of building data center infrastructure in orbit, positioning it as a complement to terrestrial cloud infrastructure.

The idea responds to a challenge that is becoming increasingly familiar on Earth. Building data centers at scale requires access to power, grid capacity, cooling, land and permits. As demand for computing continues to grow, these constraints are becoming part of the infrastructure equation.

Alatyr’s approach is modular. Its proposed orbital infrastructure is designed to remain in place for more than 15 years, while computing hardware can be replaced as it becomes obsolete, with robotic systems supporting assembly and servicing.

The company is also looking at how orbital infrastructure could connect with the cloud and telecom ecosystems already in place. Its work with Scaleway explores the concept of an orbital data center as an additional cloud region, while its collaboration with Orange focuses on connectivity, gateways, interconnection and access to customers.

The proposition is not that data centers should move to space. It is that, for certain workloads and use cases, space could become another location in the cloud infrastructure landscape.

Making optical links work in the real world

The third piece of the puzzle is the connection between space and Earth.

Optical communications can provide very high-capacity links, including between satellites. But when those links reach the ground, the atmosphere becomes part of the network.

Clouds and turbulence can interrupt an optical connection. Knowing where and when a link will be available therefore becomes as important as the capacity of the link itself.

This is where Miratlas comes in.

Its Sky Monitor technology measures atmospheric conditions, including cloud cover and turbulence, across a growing network of locations. The resulting data can be used to predict link availability and determine which ground station and route are best suited to a particular connection.

Miratlas currently has around 60 instruments deployed and is looking to expand this network to more than 200 sites, including data centers, interconnection points and cable landing stations.

For telecom operators, this creates an interesting opportunity: existing terrestrial infrastructure could become part of the ground layer supporting the next generation of optical satellite networks.

From separate infrastructures to one ecosystem

The three approaches discussed during the session address very different problems. Together, however, they reveal a broader shift.

Satellite connectivity is becoming more closely integrated with mobile networks. Computing is being considered beyond traditional data centers. And optical communications are creating new links between orbital and terrestrial infrastructure.

For telecom operators, this means that the opportunity may not lie in any single technology. It may lie in connecting them.

Mobile networks, fiber, data centers, cloud platforms, gateways, ground stations and satellites can increasingly be seen as parts of the same infrastructure ecosystem.

That raises practical questions around partnerships, network integration, infrastructure sharing and new services — but also creates opportunities for operators to play a role in shaping how this ecosystem develops.

The satellite industry is no longer only about putting infrastructure into orbit. Increasingly, the question is how that infrastructure becomes part of the networks and services we already use on Earth.

And that is where the next chapter of telecom is beginning to take shape.