Satellite IoT

Physens uses highly sensitive magnetic sensors to precisely track the movements of freight trains and utilise this data for localisation. As trains frequently travel through remote areas with no mobile network coverage, Converged Satellite NB-IoT ensures continuous global visibility. When trains move out of terrestrial coverage, the system seamlessly switches to satellite, eliminating tracking blind spots along rural logistics routes.

Vega Grieshaber supplies smart fill-level monitoring sensors for everything from agricultural silos to municipal rubbish bins. As these assets are often deployed in remote rural areas without mobile network coverage, Converged Satellite NB-IoT enables Vega to use a single hardware product for both rural and urban applications. This eliminates the need for complex product ranges whilst ensuring reliable data transmission from any location.

BlueTraker fits commercial fishing vessels with tracking systems to record their routes for regulatory compliance. As terrestrial mobile networks do not reach the open ocean, vessels previously relied on expensive proprietary satellite systems. Converged 3GPP NB-IoT offers a standardised, highly cost-effective alternative, enabling seamless offshore compliance reporting at a fraction of the traditional cost.

Satellai designs advanced pet tracking collars that use Edge AI to process movement locally and track the animal’s exact location. This AI optimises the output into tiny data packets that are perfectly suited to low-bandwidth communication. Converged Satellite NB-IoT ensures that these small data updates are transmitted flawlessly, keeping pets safe whether they are in a busy city park or miles beyond the reach of standard mobile phone masts.

Digitanimal provides smart wearables to monitor the location and health of livestock grazing across vast landscapes. As herds naturally roam into deep valleys and mountains where mobile signals cannot reach, Satellite NB-IoT seamlessly bridges this gap in geographical coverage. This gives farmers peace of mind 24/7 and complete visibility of their herds in the most remote environments.

Datakorum digitises essential utility networks to enable the remote monitoring and active control of valves in large-scale water pipeline systems. As many pipelines stretch across remote areas in Africa and Asia, Satellite NB-IoT provides the global connectivity required to operate valves and monitor their condition in real time. This enables operators to respond instantly to leaks or changes in pressure without having to send out field crews.

We are the first provider to offer convergent IoT connectivity products combining satellite and mobile networks, all managed via a single platform. This allows you to benefit from affordable mobile rates and comprehensive satellite coverage – all from a single source.

Our satellite solutions are designed for use cases that demand maximum network coverage or high reliability:

• IoT Satellite Connect supports critical IoT applications requiring higher bandwidth, such as wind and solar farms, as well as critical mobility use cases such as emergency vehicles, that need reliable data connections.
• IoT Business LPWA Satellite is tailored for IoT applications with low energy consumption and narrowband data transmission, such as environmental monitoring, livestock tracking, or sensor data in agriculture.

Generally speaking, there are GEO, MEO and LEO satellites:

• GEO: Geostationary Equatorial Orbit
• MEO: Medium Earth Orbit
• LEO: Low Earth Orbit

Our current products are based on GEO and LEO satellites. 

Our IoT Business LPWA Satellite offering is 5G-enabled (NB-IoT). The 5G technology for non-terrestrial networks (NR-NTN), which enables higher data rates, is not yet available.

Deutsche Telekom works with leading satellite partners (SES, Viasat, Skylo, OQ Technology, Sateliot, Iridium) and therefore does not operate its own satellite fleet. In future, we will integrate further satellite operators and constellations.

IoT Satellite Connect is currently available for businesses in Germany and provides coverage across much of Europe and many other regions worldwide. IoT Business LPWA, a SIM-based roaming solution, is available in Europe and numerous other countries.

For IoT Satellite Connect, a Telekom-SIM-Karte is required for the mobile router.

 IoT Business LPWA is a SIM-based solution that enables roaming in both terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.