Barcelona, Spain – February 26, 2024: The European Space Agency (ESA) and GSMA Foundry today announced a series of new initiatives, including up to €15 million in funding opportunities, to help the mobile and satellite industries collaborate on the development of terrestrial and satellite network technologies. new and innovative.
Launched at MWC Barcelona 2024, the partnership will focus on five key areas of innovation to help telecommunications companies develop new services for society that combine terrestrial and satellite communications. The initiatives are also designed to help open up new revenue streams that were not possible before. New research from GSMA Intelligence estimates that new satellite innovations can generate an additional $30 billion to $35 billion in revenue for the industry by 2035, equivalent to a 2.0 to 2.5 percent increase. % on current mobile revenue base.
The five key initiatives announced today are:
- GSMA Foundry and ESA jointly launch a series of challengesstarting with up to €15 million in ESA funding opportunities, to help stimulate innovation and project development.
- Expansion of access to the laboratory networkfor Foundry participants who want to collaborate on the ESA 5G/6G Hub in Harwell, UK, and the 5G/6G Telecom Lab in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
- Launch of a new GSMA Advance training courseto increase knowledge and support collaboration between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.
- Launch of Non-Terrestrial Network Community (TN-NTN) develop new projects and draw a roadmap for future initiatives and activities.
- Unification of ecosystems, GSMA Foundry and ESA will work and invite the industry at large to unify efforts to achieve a seamless interconnection between TN and NTN.
Antonio Franchi, Head of ESA's 5G/6G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) Program Office, said: “ESA is proud to partner with the GSMA on a range of impactful initiatives in our commitment to advancing connectivity solutions, through the integration of terrestrial and satellite networks. One of ESA's goals is to connect everyone, anywhere, anytime, and this powerful collaboration with GSMA is a significant step in advancing the satellite and mobile communications industries.
Franchi added: “In addition, we are excited to showcase ESA's work through a variety of interactive features at the GSMA Pavilion and look forward to engaging with MWC attendees.”
Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMAsaid: “We want this partnership with ESA to help unlock the huge benefits that terrestrial and satellite telecommunications networks can bring to businesses and consumers, ensuring they are more connected.
“By working together, we can help the communications industry bring innovative solutions to market, which in turn will generate enormous benefits for society. “We look forward to launching new opportunities for the market, throughout the year, that can help drive the market and innovation.”
The ambition of the association is to further strengthen the competitiveness of the mobile and satellite network industries, by creating an ecosystem that can accelerate the development of new complementary technological solutions for businesses and consumers. The two organizations will join forces to accelerate innovation when it comes to the integration of satellite communications with 5G and future 6G networks.
GSMA Foundry will work closely with ESA's 5G/6G Hub, based at ESA's European Center for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) based in Harwell, Oxfordshire. The ESA Hub brings together the satellite industry to work on new collaborative and innovative programmes. Benefiting from support from the UK Space Agency (UKSA), the Hub fits into the UK Government's 5G and 6G strategy.
ESA x Foundry Challenges: Driving innovation with up to €15 million in funding opportunities
In a bid to stimulate innovation and project development, GSMA Foundry and ESA have jointly launched a series of challenges, starting with up to €15 million in ESA funding opportunities. This includes a “Mobility Challenge” focused on areas such as the development of smart antennas and 5G interfaces and cross-sector applicability; as well as the GSMA Open Gateway challenge focused on the development of new APIs, which can drive new use cases for enterprise developers.
Laboratory Network: Access and Development
The partnership is expanding access to ESA's 5G/6G center in Harwell, Oxfordshire, UK and ESA's 5G/6G telecommunications laboratory in Noordwijk, Netherlands, with GSMA Foundry enabling projects and pilots to take advantage of these facilities. Last generation. Participants can share and develop project ideas, and GSMA Foundry is actively seeking to further grow the NTN Lab network..
GSMA Preview: Launch of the TN-NTN course
Working with ESA and other industry partners, GSMA Advance is set to launch a dedicated Non-Terrestrial (NTN) training course to support ecosystem development. It will ensure that industry professionals are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in this evolving market.
Community participation and collaboration
Unifying the ecosystem
Both organizations warmly welcome companies interested in joining GSMA to become part of the thriving NTN community.
What to see at MWC Barcelona 2024:
As partners of the GSMA Foundry, ESA is showcasing some of its most captivating projects in the GSMA Pavilion at MWC Barcelona 2024. Attendees have the opportunity to delve deeper into the world of NTN technologies, with interactive features such as mixed reality experiences and virtual tours by ESA facilities. 5G/6G hub, accessible through the metaverse. In addition, space experts will be present on site to interact with visitors. This promises to be an unrivaled experience, providing valuable insights into ESA's satellite telecommunications initiatives and boosting NTN's activities in Europe.
GSMA Intelligence, sponsored by ESA and other industry partners, will host a Satellite and Non-Terrestrial Networks Summit on Wednesday 28 February from 15:00 to 18:00 CET. It will be a key platform to discuss the integration of terrestrial and satellite networks and present the new GSMAi “Global Trends” report. For more information about the partnership and upcoming initiatives, visit the GSMA Foundry website.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About the European Space Agency:
The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe's gateway to space.
ESA is an intergovernmental organization, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space generates benefits for the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA has 22 member states: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia are associate members.
ESA has established formal cooperation with four EU Member States. Canada participates in some ESA programs under a cooperation agreement.
By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, the ESA is able to undertake programs and activities that go far beyond the reach of any European country. It works in particular with the EU in the implementation of the Galileo and Copernicus programs, as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.
Find out more about ESA at www.esa.int
About GSMA:
The GSMA is a global organization that unifies the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver critical innovation for positive business environments and social change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organizations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA offers its members three broad pillars: connectivity for good, industry services and solutions, and outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, addressing today's biggest societal challenges, supporting the technology and interoperability that make mobile devices work, and providing the world's largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.
We invite you to learn more at gsma.com
