Communication network around Earth. Photo: NASA, Via Satellite

BICS is teaming up with Skylo as its looks to improve its connectivity offerings to customers by bringing a satellite component to the mix. The partnership will allow BICS to leverage Skylo for its network made up of Geostationary (GEO) satellites for direct NB-IoT-to-satellite connectivity for its enterprise customers. Skylo will also use BICS’ IPX solution to reach a telco audience, delivering IoT non-terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity to enterprise customers of partner mobile operators and MNOs.

The two companies announced the partnership on Feb. 20. BICS is a global voice carrier and provider of mobile data services worldwide. Skylo Technologies is anNTN service provider offering a service that allows smartphone and IoT cellular devices to connect directly over existing satellites.

By partnering together, BICS and Skylo say their customers across enterprise and telco markets can now benefit from a 3GPP-compliant IoT solution with connectivity and the ability to roam outside the device’s home country. The two companies are already integrated, with traffic flowing in both directions successfully over Skylo’s live, commercial network.

“We are very proud to be working with Skylo, the only operator with persistent coverage over existing Geostationary satellites, giving us a faster route to global coverage and needing fewer satellites which last longer in orbit than their low-orbit counterparts. Together, we are further bridging the digital divide, connecting the world, and creating opportunities for both network operators and enterprises,” Luc Vidal-Madjar, Head of IoT and M2M business at BICS, said in a statement.