Keynote 1 by Dr. Konstantin Mikhaylov (University of Oulu, Finland)

Title: Space for IoT: From Direct-to-Satellite Links to Unified Terrestrial–Non-Terrestrial Networks

IoT devices deployed today may have to operate for a decade or more, while the networks that serve them are moving into orbit and changing faster than ever. Non-terrestrial networks (NTN), and satellite networks in particular, are quickly becoming part of the IoT connectivity landscape. The number of satellites in orbit has grown rapidly in recent years, IoT has become one of the most active application areas for new constellations, and standardized solutions for satellite IoT are already on the market. Satellite IoT is not meant to replace terrestrial connectivity but to complement it. It can reach remote and coverage-challenged areas, serve devices that move across the globe, and provide a backup when terrestrial networks fail. More broadly, terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks are evolving from separate systems towards integration. In the 6G era, they are expected to merge into a single unified, multi-orbit infrastructure spanning from the ground through aerial platforms to low, medium and geostationary orbits. This infrastructure would combine communication with computing in orbit, and potentially with sensing and localization.

This keynote will discuss the drivers and main use cases of satellite IoT, where the field stands today, and the key 3GPP and non-3GPP technologies that enable direct-to-satellite connectivity for IoT devices, also known as direct-to-device (D2D) when seen from the network perspective. It will then look at the main challenges of this kind of communication, from the physics of the satellite link to scalability and energy efficiency, illustrated with selected results from research at the University of Oulu. The talk will also look into the future evolution of non-terrestrial IoT connectivity towards a unified terrestrial–non-terrestrial network. Finally, it will outline what this ground-to-orbit continuum means for the software engineering of IoT devices and telecom infrastructure, from devices that must plan their activity around satellite passes to network functions that run, and must be updated, in orbit.