Seamless NTN connectivity still hinges on the device, experts say

At RCR Tech's NTN Integration Forum, speakers from Verizon, Viasat, VIAVI and XRComm said initial satellite attachment is largely solved, but QoS assurance during handoffs between terrestrial and satellite networks, roaming between satellite providers and policy-driven network selection remain open. 3GPP Releases 17–20 lock in the NTN architecture for 6G, yet roaming and load-sharing between satellite operators still lack a standard.

• Verizon: seamlessness means picking the network by cost, capacity and throughput
• Roaming and load-sharing between satellite providers are not standardized
• Devices need GNSS and filters for bands most phones lack today
• Release 21 aims to remove the mandatory GNSS dependency for IoT