This case study from Terrestar Solutions highlights a key step toward enabling resilient, always‑available IoT services across Canada’s diverse and challenging coverage landscape. It focuses on the commercial deployment of a Hybrid IoT connectivity solution that seamlessly combines terrestrial cellular networks with Non‑Terrestrial Network (NTN) satellite connectivity, ensuring continuity of service in regions where terrestrial coverage is intermittent or unavailable. By abstracting network complexity and enabling automatic fallback to satellite, this hybrid approach provides a practical foundation for scalable IoT deployments supporting critical industries and remote operations across vast areas of the country.
| COUNTRY | Canada |
| BAND | MSS S-band (3GPP-standardized) |
| THE CHALLENGE | In Canada, terrestrial cellular coverage largely follows population density, while many IoT deployments are located far beyond it across remote, rural, and industrial regions. This connectivity gap disrupts IoT rollouts and service continuity for strategic sectors such as energy, mining, and agriculture, forcing organizations to rely on multiple devices, networks, or operating models. Without a seamless way to operate across both connected and unconnected areas, scaling resilient IoT becomes costly and complex. |
| THE SOLUTION | A standards-based Hybrid IoT connectivity architecture was designed and commercially deployed, integrating terrestrial cellular networks with 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) satellite connectivity operating in MSS S-band. The solution leverages 3GPP-aligned interfaces and network functions to deliver seamless service continuity across terrestrial and satellite domains. At the device level, a single 3GPP-compliant IoT module supports both terrestrial cellular access and NTN satellite access, enabling automatic network selection and fallback based on coverage availability. This functionality is implemented at the connectivity layer and is transparent to the application, eliminating the need for dual devices, custom integrations, or application-level logic to manage multiple networks. On the network side, the architecture relies on a cloud-native, virtualized, and open network platform, in line with MSSA principles. Terrestrial and NTN access are integrated into a unified core network environment, allowing common service orchestration, policy control, device management, and security mechanisms across both access types. This approach abstracts underlying access technologies while preserving a consistent operational and service model. |
| THE IMPACT | This new solution demonstrates how standards-based Hybrid IoT architectures can deliver reliable, continuous connectivity for mission-critical IoT applications operating far beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. By seamlessly combining terrestrial cellular and 3GPP NTN satellite connectivity within a single, open service framework, the solution reduces operational complexity, accelerates deployment, and improves resilience across remote and infrastructure-poor regions. Built on open, interoperable 3GPP NTN architectures, it provides a scalable and future-proof foundation that simplifies integration with existing IoT platforms, enables rapid onboarding of devices and partners, and supports the evolution toward advanced capabilities such as mass IoT and Edge AI-enabled services over NTN. |
RESOURCES:
Terrestar Solutions Press Release: https://terrestarsolutions.ca/en/news/terrestar-launches-hybrid-iot-service-on-new-standards-based-open-network-platform-marking-a-turning-point-for-satellite-connectivity-in-canada
Mavenir Press Release: https://www.mavenir.com/press-releases/terrestar-launches-canada-wide-hybrid-satellite-iot-service-powered-by-mavenirs-cloud-native-virtualized-ran-and-core/