NTN scales faster than its business case: 16M subscribers, 23 D2D services

At the NTN Integration Forum, analysts from CCS Insight, Qualcomm and Elveo discussed the gap between satellite connectivity's rapid growth and its economics. More than 23 direct-to-device services have launched, 27 are in trial and 73 are planned, with over 16 million subscribers now using satellite services, yet willingness to pay remains modest and the add-on model fails in low-ARPU markets.

• Over 23 direct-to-device services launched, 27 in trial, 73 planned
• More than 16 million subscribers now have satellite service access
• The add-on model does not travel to low-ARPU markets
• Industry converging on NR-NTN via 3GPP Releases 18 and 19