ST Engineering iDirect, a global leader in satellite communications, today announced a key milestone in achieving interoperability between its ground system and the 5G Core through its innovative Interworking Gateway Function. This demonstrated a non-3GPP satellite network connecting seamlessly with the 5G ecosystem while appearing fully 3GPP-compliant. This proof of concept (PoC) highlights ST Engineering iDirect’s progress in its hybrid strategy for 5G NTN, validating its capability to seamlessly integrate satellite and terrestrial networks for scalable and efficient global connectivity to operators.

The PoC demonstrates that satellite operators can leverage the operational efficiencies of the 5G Core while continuing to utilize satellite-specific waveforms such as DVB-S2X and Mx-DMA MRC, ensuring reliable performance until the satellite-optimized 5G NR waveform matures. Importantly, this integration will deliver immediate benefits without requiring operators to overhaul their existing infrastructure.

The PoC also demonstrated inter-provider roaming, another key advancement in global connectivity and a critical element for operators to extend coverage to new regions and orbits, capture new revenue streams and accelerate time-to-market. The seamless interoperability of networks across multiple providers, powered by advanced 5G core capabilities, also allows operators to gain enhanced operational flexibility, improved ROI, and the ability to offer differentiated services, while end users will benefit from uninterrupted, secure connectivity and high-quality application performance.

“Our goal is to create a unified, interoperable satcom network that enables seamless roaming between terrestrial and non-terrestrial systems, allowing customers to protect their existing investments while transitioning to a scalable, next-generation 5G NTN network,” said Sridhar Kuppanna, Chief Technology Officer at ST Engineering iDirect. “The hybrid methodology is foundational to our strategy and this proof of concept demonstrates how we’re making that vision a reality.”

With planned future enhancements including satellite-optimized gNodeB technology and 5G NR (New Radio) to address 3GPP access complexities and hybrid User Equipment (UE) modems to seamlessly switch between non-3GPP and 3GPP systems, ST Engineering iDirect’s hybrid strategy is designed to help operators unlock new interoperability capabilities. It will also pave the way toward a fully standardized 5G-6G future, uniting satellites and terrestrial networks for unprecedented global scalability and coverage.