In today’s marketplace, patience is in very short supply. Consumers want digital interactions that are fast and seamless. Enterprises demand low-latency connectivity that allows business applications to deliver such seamless experiences. And they expect telecom service providers to provide reliable service and new business solutions.
Telco B2B systems under pressure
Historically, delivering such high-quality connectivity to locations outside their fibre network has been a challenge for telcos. For some business cases, telcos have used Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite networks. However, that presents two main problems. The first is that GEO systems cannot deliver the low latency required by modern applications today. The second is that integrating them into telcos’ internal Business Support Systems (BSSs) is labor-intensive and time-consuming.
For those reasons, satellite connectivity was treated as a fallback – a niche solution siloed away from the main telecom network. That perception is becoming yesterday’s news, thanks to the emergence of LEO satellite networks that deliver latency and throughput comparable to fibre.
Unlike traditional geostationary satellites, which orbit at 36,000 kilometers and introduce inherent delays, LEO satellites operate at altitudes between approximately 500 and 1,600 kilometers. This proximity dramatically reduces latency, enabling real-time cloud applications, video collaboration, and IoT workflows — all of which are essential for today’s enterprise environments.
Enter LEO: a shift from last resort to strategic enabler
This LEO-enabled shift is particularly impactful for enterprises with distributed operations – including aviation, maritime, defense, energy, and remote infrastructure. By partnering with LEO satellite providers and creating non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), telcos can extend their reach, guarantee performance SLAs, and create new revenue streams beyond their terrestrial footprints.
However, solving the performance challenge is only part of the equation for telco operators. Without solving the integration piece of the puzzle, telcos will be slow to market with the differentiated services that enterprise customers increasingly demand. These enterprise opportunities require a new kind of partnership.
Rather than bespoke, siloed vendor relationships, the future lies in ecosystem-based models where satellite, telco, and platform providers operate through standardized interfaces and shared blueprints. To make that happen, telcos need to embrace two complementary standards that enable interoperability – Mplify’s MEF and the Open Digital Architecture (ODA).
The architecture of the future
The MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet standard is already widely used by telcos and cloud service providers for their terrestrial networks to move data from external partners into their internal environment, including the carrier’s BSSs. Within the MEF standard, Business APIs address the layer of interactions between partners by automating elements of the product lifecycle for MEF standard services, such as product catalog, quote, order, and inventory. LEO networks, such as Telesat Lightspeed, that are certified as MEF 3.0 compliant can readily integrate with terrestrial networks, helping to overcome bandwidth shortages at a far lower cost than deploying fibre to remote locations.
The more recent ODA standard aims to support universal plug-and-play services that provide a blueprint for building new services within an organization. Basically, it automates how the Operations Support Systems (OSSs), which manage the telco’s network infrastructure, and the BBSs, which handle customer-facing activities like billing and order management, communicate and share data. The industry group behind the ODA, TM Forum, describes this data interplay as enabling carriers “to simplify enterprise architecture designs, modernize software build for a plug-and-play ecosystem and automate IT and network operations.”
This might sound like technical inside-baseball speak, but it’s vital to service delivery and customer experience. For example, consider a remote business that wants to order services from a telecom service provider without fiber or Carrier Ethernet available at that location. The provider will need to collaborate with a local carrier or satellite operator to provide last-mile connectivity to the customer’s specific location. MEF 3.0 provides APIs that enable the two companies’ BSSs and OSSs to interface with each other in a manner invisible to the end customer.
Unlocking B2B opportunities
ODA standards work alongside the MEF APIs by packaging order information into a uniform format, enabling it to flow much more easily with no translation needed within a company’s business or operational support systems. Without the MEF and ODA frameworks, it typically takes a year to introduce a new service.
However, when all internal processes are synchronized – such as product features, provisioning, ordering, and customer service – an idea can become a new service in weeks. This accelerates the introduction of new LEO-powered solutions such as surge capacity at large public events, expanded backup capabilities, and private 5G deployments that are easier to deploy and manage.
With a network like Telesat Lightspeed, all of these could be backed by committed information rates (CIRs) and enterprise-class availability, latency, jitter, and packet loss rates. Not only can the telco achieve faster revenue growth, but it can also deliver superior customer service experience compared to competitors. This further differentiates the telco from competitors and provides a market advantage.
Next-generation LEO systems that incorporate these vital frameworks turn satellite connectivity from a technology of last resort into a competitive must-have. LEO now enables telcos to deliver terrestrial-like performance and innovative new services through NTNs even in the most remote or underserved regions.
Looking forward: Satellite-telco convergence and the next frontier
By leveraging standardized, automated digital business processes, LEO networks position telcos to lead in a rapidly converging landscape. It’s not just about expanding connectivity; it’s about maintaining market advantage. What was once a niche technology has become a strategic enabler. Next-generation LEO will be indispensable for telcos to expand their networks and unlock new market opportunities.
