Funding and Regulatory Issues, Not Tech, Seen as Biggest D2D Hurdles

Direct-to-device (D2D) service will require more spectrum to connect all mobile devices, said Dan Dooley, Lynk's chief commercial officer. He said D2D will depend on access to terrestrial spectrum and mobile satellite service spectrum to fill in coverage "microholes." Asked if D2D service will work for such latency-sensitive applications as IoT and autonomous vehicles, Dooley said, "Eventually."

Abad-Santos said that in light of evolving satellite technologies, such as optical intersatellite links, and the increased pace of launch, the biggest challenges are fundraising and access to capital. "We don't have a couple of billionaires in our back pockets."

Giagtzoglou said the challenges for satellite/terrestrial connectivity are ensuring that neither end users nor MNOs have to do anything special and that satellite connectivity is seamless. That's one reason for the existence of the Mobile Satellite Services Association, which Omnispace and other operators founded in 2024 (see 2402090013), he said. Membership has reached 21 companies, including Qualcomm and Ericsson, he noted.

Many regulators, including the FCC, have been "pretty forward-looking" in their openness to D2D service, Dooley said. Abad-Santos said there are some regulatory issues, such as data sovereignty and data intercepts, with no clear rules yet.

Giagtzoglou cited numerous opportunities to generate revenue via D2D service. In some markets, MNOs face regulatory requirements to serve a certain percentage of the population and are regularly fined for not meeting that obligation, he said, but D2D could get them to 100% coverage. Pointing to Australia’s requirement that all mobile operators provide 100% coverage everywhere, he said other nations are likely to follow suit.

Tuesday's event, held at National Harbor, Maryland, also included discussions of network security challenges. RETN CEO Tony O'Sullivan said his company, which operates in 41 countries, tends to see targeted attacks against specific parts of its infrastructure, trying to create a chain reaction. He said it has to protect its network and help customers protect theirs.

Michael Wheeler, head of NTT Data's global IP network, said one of the biggest network vulnerabilities is the sheer number of devices not managed effectively by users, like security cameras in homes. Small and midsized businesses lack the security resources of big enterprises but can still have lots of devices, he noted.

Data Flows

Steve Lang, U.S. coordinator-international communications and information policy at the State Department, said that while countries around the world are eager for outside cybersecurity support, they often turn to the U.N. or multilateral organizations first, but those aren’t usually the best venues.

Lang pointed to President Donald Trump's February executive order threatening tariffs in response to nations' digital service taxes and other practices targeting U.S. businesses (see 2502210074), saying it indicates that U.S. tech competition is a high priority for the administration. The U.S. sees regulatory frameworks in other countries that use digital sovereignty as justification for restricting cross-border data flows but tries to encourage environments that allow free data flow, he said. That lets companies and governments take advantage of U.S. companies' cloud services and advanced cybersecurity capabilities, he added.

Subsea cable industry executives said there's a shift from big consortia partnering on cable projects to hyperscalers driving most deployment. Today, hyperscalers are building 80% of cables, said Virginie Frouin, BW Digital's chief business officer. There are four dominant ownership models, she said: cable systems owned and operated by hyperscalers; consortia in cases where a cable goes through numerous jurisdictions; joint-built agreements where a hyperscaler partners with a subsea cable operator and each party owns and commercializes a piece; and open-access models generally led by private entities.

Zain Omantel International's Huda Al Ghabshi, head of department for data and connectivity, said that with hyperscalers leading activity in the sector, submarine cable operators need to find ways to partner and cooperate with them.

The subsea executives echoed other speakers in saying the growing demand for submarine cable installation and repair isn't being met (see 2505050010), but no one offered answers. Al Ghabshi said deployment of a new cable network can take four to six years, due to a lack of companies and ships to do the work, and delays are increasing. Maintenance ships are also in short supply. Al Ghabshi and others said prices for construction and repair services have increased sharply.

Frouin said geopolitics are influencing where cables go, with South China Sea and Red Sea deployments avoiding particularly troublesome areas. With issues of cables being cut in places such as the Nordics, some nations are doing more to protect them, including patrol boats, she said.