Gatehouse Satcom, a Denmark-based developer of standards-based protocol stack software for satellite communications, today announced its membership in the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA), an industry effort to develop, promote and advance the emerging ecosystem for advanced Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) services, including direct-to-device (D2D) and IoT for consumer, commercial, civil and government applications globally.

MSSA, launched in February 2024, seeks to facilitate and accelerate the integration and evolution of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks using 3GPP mobile standards. Its founding members are Viasat, Terrestar Solutions, Ligado Networks, Omnispace and Space42, and the membership has since broadened to include terrestrial-industry leaders. Together with other ecosystem players, members work collectively to support scalable, sustainable and affordable connectivity to devices on land, in the air and at sea, drawing on the L- and S-band spectrum already allocated and licensed for mobile satellite services.

Advanced NTN services can expand connectivity and enable competition across multiple large and diverse segments, including cellular, industrial, government, agriculture, automotive and others. Realizing that potential at scale depends on interoperable, standards-aligned software that allows terrestrial and satellite networks to work together seamlessly.

As an active member of 3GPP and ETSI, Gatehouse Satcom has contributed directly to the development of 5G NTN standards and has delivered NB-IoT NTN and New Radio (NR) protocol software validated across GEO, MEO and LEO deployments. Through its membership, the company will bring this standards-based software expertise to the Association’s collaborative work on technical specifications and best practices for the D2D and IoT ecosystem.

“We’re grateful to join the MSSA and to collaborate with the operators and innovators advancing the direct-to-device and IoT ecosystem,” said Jesper Noer, Chief Commercial Officer of Gatehouse Satcom. “Standards-based, interoperable software is what turns non-terrestrial networks into scalable, seamless services, and it has been at the core of our work for years through our active role in 3GPP. We are confident this is a community Gatehouse Satcom is well placed to contribute to, and we look forward to helping advance the Association’s mission of integrating terrestrial and satellite networks for users everywhere.”