5G NTN February 2026
The January 2026 report highlights the accelerating integration of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and satellite connectivity into the world of cellular communication. There is growing interest in satellite communication, with 225 publicly announced operator–satellite partnerships in 88 countries and territories as of January 2026.
Satellite-to-cellphone services are grabbing the headlines, with 16 partnerships having launched services. Though initial progress was led by Asia and North America, services are now launching in Europe and South America. A further 25 partnerships are trialling the technology with 53 in planning stage, indicating that there will be further launches in 2026 and beyond.
Community and enterprise broadband still accounts for 45% of all partnerships announced between satellite network operators and telecom operators, which is partly due to the technology being more widely available for longer. In contrast, satellite IoT is beginning to gain traction, with companies like Skylo and OQ increasingly playing important roles.
The US has the most satellite vendors, with 15 including companies such as Starlink and AST SpaceMobile. The UK and China both have five constellations. A growing number of countries have a satellite constellation either planned or launched, as recorded in the GSA database, including Australia, India and Spain.
There is a limited number of devices that have satellite compatibility with 3GPP narrowband NTN standards, whilst other devices are modified to work with certain constellations. Furthermore, some direct-to-cellphone constellations rely on IMT spectrum which, theoretically, would work with any 4G or 5G smartphone.
© GSA 2026
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5G NTN February 2026
