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Thales Alenia Space to develop satellite infrastructure for Omnispace

This will advance Omnispace’s vision to deliver a global hybrid communications network based on 3GPP standards.

Mobile communications provider Omnispace has selected Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), to develop the initial component of its satellite-based Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure.

Thales Alenia Space will design and build an initial set of two satellites for operation in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO). These initial satellites will support 3GPP-defined (the 3rd Generation Partnership Project telecommunications specifications that unite standard development organizations) Narrow-Band IoT radio interface and will serve to advance the development and implementation of Omnispace’s global hybrid network. This announcement marks a key milestone as Omnispace initiates the development of its new generation NGSO satellite constellation which will operate in the S-band.

Commenting on the announcement, Ram Viswanathan, President and CEO of Omnispace LLC, said: “Thales Alenia Space has a successful track record of developing NGSO satellite constellations and is well-qualified to support our vision of delivering the world’s first global 5G non-terrestrial Network (NTN). This investment in our next-generation satellite infrastructure allows us to progress the development of our technology and demonstrate our unique capabilities as we continue to work towards launching our broader vision of a global hybrid network.”

Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space remarked: “Thales Alenia Space is pleased to be working with Omnispace, which is taking a holistic approach to the design, development and deployment of their next-generation, IoT-based satellite network infrastructure. Omnispace’s selection of Thales Alenia Space reinforces our leadership position as a major industrial partner and our expertise in space-based IoT communications. We look forward to collaborating with Omnispace in delivering this innovative project.”