Following its recent 13 million euros Series A funding round, OQ Technology, a pioneer of 5G IoT satellite services, has announced March 2023 as the planned launch date for the LSA & ESA-supported MACSAT mission.
The on-orbit pathfinder mission, to be launched on a Vega-C rocket rideshare mission (VV23), is aimed at demonstrating advanced 5G IoT services. It will be able to process a high number of 5G enabled devices via strategic satellite frequencies that are common with terrestrial mobile from Low Earth orbit (LEO).
MACSAT is a 2 million euros smallsat mission led by OQ Technology as the prime contractor and funded by the Luxembourg Government through an ESA contract in the Luxembourg National Space programme (LuxIMPULSE).
“We are so excited to launch this mission which we have been working on since some time, we thank our partners at the Luxembourg Space Agency and the European Space Agency for trusting us and who have been always supporting us throughout this journey.”
The mission will be used to test advanced 5G IoT algorithms, paving the way for qualifying existing 5G NB (narrowband)-IoT chips for commercial via-satellite deployment. It will also be part of OQ Technology’s constellation to offer commercial connectivity services.
The 6U nanosatellite was built by Lithuanian mission integrator and smallsat manufacturer NanoAvionics, who also handles launch brokering and logistics. The payload was developed by OQ Technology. The 5G IoT operator is also responsible for overall management, satellite procurement, and operations of the mission.
“With the cellular direct-to-device (D2D) heating up, OQ Technology is well positioned to be a pioneer in connecting cellular IoT devices to LEO satellites with its first successful narrowband IoT waveform mission back in 2019. With many customers from the energy, logistics, agriculture, and maritime market interested in OQ’s solution and large Telcos willing to onboard satellite cellular IoT products, OQ Technology is well positioned to serve these customers next year,” Qaise said.
About OQ Technology
OQ Technology is the world’s first satellite cellular 5G IoT operator that provides global cellular Internet-of-Things and Machine-to-Machine communication solutions through satellites. The company has successfully implemented and demonstrated Narrowband IoT connectivity over Low Earth Orbit satellites and is deploying a global constellation to provide 3GPP compatible satellite IoT telecommunication services for mobile operators and customers in industries such as energy, mining, logistics, maritime, agriculture, and defence. The company’s patented technology that can be easily embedded in existing cellular chips allows billions of users around the world to have ubiquitous IoT connectivity anywhere and using both terrestrial and satellite networks. www.oqtec.com | https://twitter.com/oqtec | https://www.linkedin.com/company/oqtechnologysarl
