Skylo Technologies announced on the 28th that it has commercialized narrowband Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) voice calls in a non-terrestrial network environment for the first time in the world.
Skylo has received frequency regulation approval for mobile satellite services (MSS) in 36 countries and aims to expand its services based on its capability to handle tens of millions of voice calls.
This technology was implemented through the 'Skylo Voice Gateway' and applies an AI-based voice codec that reduces data usage by over 90% compared to existing cellular services. With AI-native design, it optimizes communication quality and data efficiency, and converts the physical signals of satellite links into standard protocols like SIP/RTP for easy integration with mobile network operator (MNO) core networks. Users can utilize NTN-based voice calls with just a smartphone, without any additional equipment.
Skylo is also working on standardization of NTN voice calls based on 3GPP. At the 3GPP conference in June, the proposal for 'NTN native voice calls' was adopted as a work item for Release 20 standards. Furthermore, it is collaborating with Samsung Electronics to conduct NTN voice call tests based on Exynos chipsets and has also introduced AI-based voice codec technology in partnership with Fraunhofer IIS.
Tarun Gupta, Skylo's Chief Product Officer, noted, 'This technology is significant in that it provides a foundational technology for MNOs to offer new services for revenue generation,' and added, 'NTN-based voice calls are currently the only technology at commercial scale, with high market potential and impact.' Skylo has commercialized OTT satellite messaging services and SOS functions in 2023, and is set to launch satellite SMS services in March 2025.