Narrowing the Digital Divide through Non-Terrestrial Networks

Earlier this month, at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2023, I stressed the urgent need of advancing sustainability globally and accelerating progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

?As I said then, data-driven collaboration is key to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. That’s because data is knowledge and knowledge is power.

?But to unlock the potential of data, we must ensure that everyone has access to it. And yet 2.7 billion people – around 34% of the world’s population – are still unconnected, 14% of whom are without a mobile broadband signal entirely. But how can this be the case in a world as interconnected as ours?

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The Promise of NTN

Affordability is among the barriers to connectivity, but much of the digital divide can be explained by the limitations of terrestrial networks (TN). Just 10% of land and 3% of Earth (land and oceans combined) has network coverage supplied by TN, with 5 million cell towers providing 95% of the global population with mobile broadband connectivity. Terrestrial networks, despite their reach, still leave 5% of the world’s population unconnected.

?To close the digital divide, we must look beyond terrestrial networks – which have been the primary driver of connectivity since the 1990s – and explore innovative approaches to bringing more people into the digital fold. So, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we’ve been assessing the viability of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN). Free from the constraints of geography and potentially more cost-effective than TN, air- and spaceborne technologies promise to boost access to and affordability of connectivity.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s NTN Program

In the Kingdom, our approach to unlocking the potential of NTN is fourfold. First, we’ve conducted six pioneering trials. These focus on space-borne networks and assess Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites for Internet of Things (IoT) applications; LEO satellite broadband and backhauling, and novel means of enabling connectivity. We also examined air-borne networks including Air-to-Ground (A2G), High-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS), and Hybrid Non-Terrestrial Networks. Through these trials, we can better understand some of the core challenges of these new approaches to connectivity and ways of working around them.

?Second, we’re future-proofing regulation to ensure it’s fit for purpose. To that end, we’ve designed and introduced new NTN regulatory frameworks, leveraging public consultation, and drawing on insights from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the UK Office of Communications (OFCOM). We’re also continuing to collaborate with the Saudi General Authority on Civil Aviation (GACA) and the Saudi Space Commission (SCC).

?As part of our regulatory engagement and to extend coverage to rural and remote areas, we held an auction for the 2100 MHz band in November 2022. Through this auction, we’re incentivizing the deployment of NTN technologies, promoting investments in the ICT sector, and emphasizing the Kingdom’s global leadership in enabling the most modern satellite technologies. Among these technologies are A2G, Mobile Satellite Service (MSS), IoT through Satellite (MSS-IoT), and Hybrid 5G Connectivity (MSS/CGS). Having won both blocks, STC is now investing in these areas.

?Third, we’re continuing to bring together stakeholders from across sectors and industries at the Connecting the World from the Skies forum we host annually. In 2022 alone, the forum brought together 90+ speakers from 85+ organizations and 130+ countries. In addition to hosting the forum, we’re also actively participating in events around the world such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Mobile World Congress (MWC).?

?Fourth, we’re carrying out research with partners from industry and academia, including sponsoring a competition on NTN for Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G , as part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Future Networks Initiative. Not only did the competition attract over 100 participants from 34 universities and research centers across 17 countries, but it culminated in 28 papers being submitted.

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Global Partnerships for Boundless Connectivity?

And while we’re proud of the momentum our efforts are creating around NTN, accelerating progress toward connecting the unconnected, we appreciate that global challenges call for global solutions. Partnership is key to enabling connectivity for all and for ensuring the peaceful and sustainable use of space. Special attention needs to be paid to the growing problem of space debris – by far the biggest threat to NTN – along with more adequate and global space, airspace, and spectrum licensing policies.

?The Artemis Accords, of which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a signatory, are certainly a step in the right direction and an important extension of the principles the 1967 Outer Space Treaty put forth, but far more work is needed on the policy front . Enhancing connectivity and making space policy fit for purpose must go hand in hand.

?Over the coming months, we will be announcing a series of new initiatives that will further expand our NTN efforts in collaboration with a diverse group of global partners. So, stay tuned! In the meantime, I encourage you to further explore our NTN program .??