For years, satellite connectivity meant a dedicated handset and a clear view of the sky. Today, an ordinary smartphone can send a text from a remote mountainside — and operators are racing to turn that capability into a business. The technology is arriving faster than the commercial systems needed to support it, which leaves a gap in how that traffic is billed and settled.
From Demo to Real Revenue
Direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity has gone from demo to real revenue in about eighteen months. Starlink was reportedly serving 7.4 million monthly unique devices across roughly 30 countries as of March 31, 2026, using 650 D2D-capable satellites. AST SpaceMobile had 13 BlueBird satellites in orbit as of August 2026, with its 45-satellite target for commercial service pushed to early 2027 and beta services planned for later this year.
The field is widening, too. Iridium has moved its NTN Direct service onto the 3GPP Release 19 standards track. Lynk Global merged with Omnispace to form a new operator, Elveo, and Amazon's Leo constellation has filed for its own D2D system. Omdia projects the market will reach 411 million monthly active users and nearly $12 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
Two Camps, One Race
The race has split into two camps. One camp (Iridium, Skylo, Viasat, Space42, and Sateliot) uses globally pre-allocated Mobile Satellite Service spectrum, sidestepping licensing issues but depending on 3GPP NTN standards work to reach mainstream chipsets. Sateliot is built entirely around 3GPP Release 17 NB-IoT NTN standards, aiming for off-the-shelf chipset compatibility rather than proprietary hardware. The other camp (Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, Lynk/Elveo) reaches unmodified phones using a partner carrier's existing terrestrial spectrum, avoiding new hardware but inheriting local regulatory and interference complexity. Either way, a satellite operator needs a terrestrial partner to reach and bill customers.
Why Neither Side Can Go Alone
The dependence runs both ways. Satellite operators offer terrestrial operators coverage no tower network can match: oceans, disaster zones, remote farmland, and emergency SOS, which gives them a new premium tier and resilience story without new capex. Terrestrial operators offer satellite operators what no constellation can generate on its own. That includes a subscriber base and billing relationship, spectrum, device compatibility, retail distribution, and regulatory standing. Terrestrial operators also provide the roaming, authentication, and interconnect infrastructure that lets a device hand off between a tower and a satellite beam while keeping a clear record of who owes whom.
The Billing Gap
That interdependence runs straight into a billing problem. Transferred Account Procedures (TAP), the industry's long-standing wholesale settlement framework, was built for steady terrestrial voice and SMS volumes. Satellite IoT and messaging traffic arrives in intermittent, asymmetric bursts. Billing & Charging Evolution (BCE), GSMA's newer standard, supports event-based charging and more flexible settlement, making it a far better fit for satellite's traffic profile. Satellite is turning out to be one of the strongest forces pushing the industry from TAP toward BCE. The billing standard that ends up clearing this traffic will determine how operators get paid.
How Syniverse Closes the Gap
Syniverse plugs NTN services into its existing global IPX (reaching 260+ mobile network operators), clearing and settlement rails, and roaming/signalling infrastructure, so a satellite partner looks like just another roaming partner to an MNO's existing systems. Three partnerships illustrate this:
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Skylo uses Syniverse's Evolved Mobility and Diameter protocol to bring two-way SMS over satellite to Verizon customers.
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Iridium's Release 19-based NTN Direct service integrates with Syniverse's platform for roaming, authentication, and billing.
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Sateliot worked with Syniverse to launch the industry's first standardized NTN billing framework built on GSMA's TAP and BCE standards.
Syniverse is also the industry’s first provider to achieve BCE 2.0 compliance, with a large and rapidly growing base of established BCE customers already benefiting from the solution. That deep BCE implementation experience is backed by a robust global infrastructure that scales seamlessly as transaction volumes increase and networks grow.
Independent market research firms have recognized Syniverse with multiple awards for its leadership and innovation in next-generation clearing and settlement. And when satellite operators and mobile carriers need a partner they can trust to navigate the shift to BCE, they choose Syniverse for its proven results and industry recognition.
