For decades, the boundary of enterprise connectivity has been limited by infrastructure on the ground. Fiber stops where it becomes too expensive to build out. Cellular coverage fades at the edge of populated areas. For industries that operate pipelines across continents, manage offshore platforms, or deploy industrial equipment in remote terrain, this boundary has been a persistent constraint on what digital transformation can actually deliver.
Networks that are no longer anchored to the earth, technically referred to as non-terrestrial networks or NTNs, allow industries to transcend this connectivity boundary. Combining a Private Cellular Network with orbiting satellites empowers enterprises with a resilient, cloud-delivered wireless platform that transcends traditional geographic limitations.
Recently, Cisco validated its Private 5G-as-a-Service (P5GaaS) with the Telesat Lightspeed NTN service. Using the Telesat Lightspeed Network Emulator with Cisco NCS 540 series platforms, we have achieved a seamless convergence of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks. This integration ensures that mission-critical enterprise applications benefit from carrier-grade reliability and high-performance connectivity. As Cisco and Telesat move from concept to capability, enterprise customers stand to gain a truly global, secure, and unified wireless experience that eliminates coverage gaps and operational silos.
A testing environment to mimic a remote 5G network
Cisco conducted its validation at the Cisco Toronto Innovation Center, integrating the P5GaaS platform with the Telesat Lightspeed Network Emulator to answer a question that enterprises are increasingly asking: Can a completely remote private cellular deployment rely on a LEO (low Earth orbit) satellite’s carrier Ethernet service as its primary backhaul to the internet?
The test environment reflected genuine deployment complexity. Nokia indoor radios integrated with Cisco’s P5G core formed the private 5G radio access network for testing. The private 5G core ran on a Cisco UCS computing platform. User devices included smartphones, tablets, laptops with cellular modems, and Cisco industrial routers, representing the heterogeneous mix of endpoints that real enterprise deployments demand. The emulator simulated a LEO service path between a site in the Pacific Northwest and a Telesat point of presence in Virginia, supported by ground stations, a geographically realistic and commercially relevant scenario and Cisco NCS540 routers converged Carrier Ethernet services across non-terrestrial and terrestrial networks.
Carrier quality latency confirmed
Across all primary test scenarios, the results were consistent and compelling. The average one-way latency on the connection was approximately 24 milliseconds, well within the range required for latency-sensitive enterprise applications. Packet loss across standard test scenarios was zero. During LEO inter-satellite handover events, latency showed brief, bounded spikes before returning cleanly to baseline, confirming that the dynamic nature of a LEO constellation does not compromise session continuity for latency-sensitive devices and applications.
The Cisco Crosswork Assurance platform provided real-time visibility into both the 5G radio access network (RAN) and the LEO backhaul, simultaneously from a single dashboard. For enterprises and service providers, this matters as much as the performance numbers themselves. Satellite connectivity that cannot be monitored and assured with the same tools as the rest of the network creates operational blind spots. This validation demonstrated that those blind spots can be eliminated.
“It is therefore clear that NTN-enabled private 5G is a transformative solution that underpins enterprise resilience, regulatory compliance, and the safety of both assets and personnel – making it an indispensable element of modern business infrastructure.”
Making Zero Trust operational across non-terrestrial networks
The Cisco/Telesat Lightspeed validation marks a pivotal advancement in enterprise security, proving that geographic expansion does not necessitate a compromise in protection. By integrating the Telesat Lightspeed NTN Service, the Cisco P5GaaS enforces a unified security posture, ensuring that identity and access policies remain seamless, consistent, and robust—whether traffic traverses traditional terrestrial infrastructure or satellite constellations.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), integrated directly with the P5GaaS core, serves as the central authority for policy, identity, and access management across the entire deployment. Every device, whether a corporate laptop, an industrial IoT sensor, or a mobile endpoint, is authenticated and authorized using a Zero Trust Model, before it can access network resources, regardless of whether its traffic is flowing over a terrestrial link or a LEO satellite backhaul. Dynamic segmentation ensures that a compromise in one part of the network cannot propagate to other parts.
Critically, this policy enforcement spans both terrestrial and non-terrestrial domains within a single, unified framework. For enterprise customers and the service providers serving them, that means Zero Trust is not a capability confined to terrestrial. It extends consistently across the satellite backhaul which was validated in this test.
Validation of an architecture built for scale
One of the most important takeaways from the Cisco white paper is the validation of a standards-based architecture that can be extended across large-scale enterprise and service provider deployments.
Cisco points to an evolving industry dynamic in which enterprises, service providers, and satellite operators are exploring new engagement models. While these trends highlight where the market may be heading, the validation itself is grounded in something more concrete: technical interoperability and operational consistency across domains.
The testing demonstrated that Telesat Lightspeed, built on MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet standards, can integrate cleanly with Cisco’s Private 5G-as-a-Service platform and the broader service provider ecosystem. This includes alignment with existing operational frameworks such as multi-vendor device environments, BSS/OSS integration, and unified network assurance.
The validation establishes a deployment-ready foundation. Service providers can incorporate this into existing architectures with confidence, knowing that performance, security, and manageability requirements can be met under real-world conditions.
A solid foundation for network expansion
The results of this validation extend beyond any single deployment scenario. They establish that LEO-based non-terrestrial networking, delivered via Telesat Lightspeed Carrier Ethernet services, is ready to serve as the backhaul foundation for enterprise-grade private 5G at scale. Crucially, it also gives customers a way to test Private 5G backhaul connectivity through the Telesat Lightspeed network emulator ahead of commercial service, accelerating readiness and building confidence for deployment.
For service providers working to meet the connectivity requirements of enterprises in energy, utilities, mining, maritime, logistics, and beyond, the combination of Telesat Lightspeed and Cisco P5GaaS represents something concrete: a tested, standards-compliant, globally capable architecture that can be integrated into real-world network designs. Together, Telesat and Cisco are helping service providers address NTN connectivity requirements wherever their customers operate.
Read the full Cisco white paper and visit the Cisco Non-Terrestrial Networking page before exploring how you can unlock new possibilities for your organization with the Telesat Lightspeed Network Emulator.
