We’re about to enter a stage in which demand for space data will surge, congestion in radio frequencies will worsen, and the world will search for secure, high-bandwidth alternatives that can operate even in contested settings. The drivers of these changes will be many and various: new entrants into low-Earth orbit, mounting security concerns around undersea cables, the reordering of defense priorities, and rising geopolitical tensions. Both companies and countries will look to those forms of technology that already work at scale – and speed will be a baseline concern.

Ground Control and the 211 peers we surveyed across Europe working in satellite IoT believe 2026 will see several trends emerge that will be instrumental in shaping the satellite IoT industry.

The accelerating growth of satellites and space activity is turning Earth’s orbit into an increasingly congested environment. The European Space Agency’s Zero Debris Technical Booklet is an ambitious and welcome step toward solving this problem but delivering on the vision will depend on industry’s ability to move from commitment to capability and from regulation to real-world implementation.

As the world’s attention shifts once again toward the Moon, a quiet revolution is taking place much closer to home. Beyond the rockets, rovers, and orbital stations making headlines, a less visible but equally vital layer of engineering is emerging — the communications infrastructure that will connect Earth to the lunar frontier.

Commercial drone operations are poised to move beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), unlocking a new scale of industrial and public service applications. From infrastructure inspection to disaster response, the ability to maintain safe, reliable control over long distances is central to realizing this potential. Yet persistent gaps in connectivity remain the principal barrier to safe, scalable deployment.

Not so long ago, each satellite was like a tailored piece of clothing: distinct, expensive, and designed for a single purpose. That’s no longer the case. In fact, Goldman Sachs estimates that 70,000 satellites will be launched in the next five years. So, satellites are no longer rare artefacts. They are moving toward mass production. What we are seeing at the moment is the birth of an industrial revolution – in space.

The satcom industry is experiencing a dramatic evolution. While a number of long-term players have been struggling to find a profitable trajectory, ST Engineering iDirect has rewritten the playbook. We sat down with Don Claussen, the company’s CEO, to discover the secret to ST Engineering iDirect’s success.

The return of large-scale combat in Europe has spurred a new era of defense investment. At the 2025 NATO Summit, member nations aimed to increase defense spending targets to 5 percent of GDP—a level of commitment unseen since the Cold War. This generational opportunity for the European Defense Industrial Base (DIB) hinges on three core strategies: leveraging capital, forming strategic partnerships, and modernizing the digital tools to manage scaled-up production.

This white paper explains 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) in plain language for engineers and decision-makers who want reliable coverage beyond cell towers. The big idea is simple: extend standard 5G so ordinary phones and IoT sensors can connect through satellites and high-altitude platforms with the same 5G Core, security, and SIMs.

The UAE’s rapid rise in the space sector is rooted in a bold, forward-thinking vision – one that has moved us from launching Earth observation satellites to exploring deep space.

In January 2025, a Ryanair flight was forced to abort its landing due to GPS interference near NATO’s border with Russia. Incidents like these highlight the increasing threat posed by RF jamming and its growing importance in both commercial and military arenas. For defense organizations jamming is not just a hazard it’s a weapon.

A virtual network architecture designed to use software for the management and optimization of WANs is seamlessly connecting users to applications across numerous locations, and as such, has become a crucial tool when it comes to connecting rural and remote sites across the globe.