Key Highlights
- Sateliot, the first company to offer standard 5G connectivity from space, has collaborated with GOSPACE LABS.
- Sateliot is the first satellite operator to use the 3GPP standard protocol, making their connectivity more affordable than terrestrial networks and benefiting the approximately 43 million US rural inhabitants relying on private wells for their drinking water.
GOSPACE LABS is a company specializing in space, telecoms, and IoT hardware, to provide 5G NTN NB-IoT connectivity from space to MERATCH, a smart IoT water management solution in the US.
The solution is particularly important for the approximately 43 million people, or 15% of the US population, who rely on private wells for their drinking water. Natural disasters such as floods or water contamination can easily compromise the water supply, with traces of contaminants already found in 20% of US private wells in 2018.
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IoT Water Management Solution Uses Sensors
MERATCH is an IoT water management solution that uses sensors to monitor water quality and flow, such as pH levels and temperature, in selected locations like bridges. It is the recipient of the American Water Council Tech award. Once connected to a low-latency, narrowband network like Sateliot’s 5G satellite constellation, the system can detect unusual situations and send alerts to serve as an early warning system in case of potential water contamination or upcoming floods.
For the 43 million rural inhabitants in the US, monitoring water wells can be expensive due to the proprietary technology used by legacy carriers. However, Sateliot is changing this by becoming the first satellite operator to use the 3GPP standard protocol, which MNOs and MVNOs already use for their terrestrial cellular networks. This means that Sateliot’s connectivity offers affordable costs compared to the terrestrial networks, benefiting the end-users.
Gianluca Redolfi, Sateliot CCO, expressed pride in joining GOSPACE LABS’ mission to improve access to vital water for all Americans. He believes that Sateliot’s connectivity will provide the best service to MERATCH customers by helping them monitor their wells from anywhere and notifying them of any potential hazards.
Pavol Turcina, GOSPACE LABS CEO, emphasized the importance of ensuring that well owners and users have access to safe and potable water at all times. With Sateliot’s nanosatellite constellation, they can guarantee up-to-date and accurate data retrieval from MERATCH sensors, available worldwide.
Moreover, their sensors can connect seamlessly to cellular and satellite networks at an affordable cost without any hardware modifications.
