The Great Connectivity Convergence: NTN in Industrial IoT

02-10-2026

4-minute read

Summary

Direct-to-device (D2D) — enabled by new standards introduced in 3GPP’s Release 17 — is bringing the disparate worlds of terrestrial and satellite connectivity into a single ecosystem.
To understand how industrial organizations are approaching this shift, Viasat and Vanson Bourne surveyed 600 IoT decision-makers globally across agriculture, energy, land transport & logistics, mining, and utilities.
This report, NTN in Industrial IoT, explores current industry sentiment: the urgency building around D2D adoption, the barriers slowing progress, and what the emerging buying landscape means for the wider ecosystem.

What’s driving demand for NB-NTN?

What’s driving demand for NB-NTN across industrial IoT?

The promise of universal connectivity has long shaped expectations around industrial IoT. In practice, however, coverage has been constrained by geography, infrastructure, and reach. With Narrowband Non-Terrestrial Networks (NB-NTN), those constraints begin to ease.

NB-NTN, defined in 3GPP Release 17, provides a standards-based way for industrial IoT devices to maintain connectivity via satellite when terrestrial networks are unavailable. Optimized for lightweight, low-power use cases, such as telemetry, alerts, and control signals, it can extend coverage without changing how devices are deployed or managed, closing gaps across remote, mobile, and infrastructure-poor environments.

Our research shows the strongest demand is coming from industrial settings where connectivity gaps have historically limited scale. However, even more mature markets are starting to view NB-NTN as a crucial layer of resilience to provide additional assurance for mission-critical operations when terrestrial networks are congested, degraded, or unavailable. Together, these dynamics are reshaping expectations for industrial connectivity, shifting the focus from “peak performance” to coverage certainty, operational resilience, and continuity at scale.

A semi-truck on the road viewed from above.

Read the full report

Discover how satellite and terrestrial networks are reshaping connectivity across industrial IoT in The Great Connectivity Convergence: NTN in Industrial IoT.

Key findings

78%

Industrial IoT adoption is accelerating, with 78% of organizations reporting increased progress over the past 12 months.

86%

Momentum is strongest among hybrid users, where 86% report progress gains, highlighting the role satellite already plays in enabling scale.

91%

D2D is emerging as a near-term enabler, with 69% planning adoption within 12 months and 91% within 18 months.

Opportunities to expand your operations

For mobile network operators, industrial IoT represents a growing opportunity, as direct-to-device (D2D) is redefining how connectivity is delivered beyond traditional terrestrial networks. The convergence of satellite and terrestrial networks enables operators to:

Expand industrial coverage into new revenue streams
Position resilience and continuity as premium services for mission-critical use cases
Deepen enterprise relationships by simplifying connectivity across complex environments
Scale industrial IoT portfolios without heavy network reinvestment

So, as the ecosystem matures, forward-looking operators will position D2D as a core capability for industrial IoT, enabling reliable, scalable connectivity wherever operations need to run.

Organizations are rightly excited by the potential for standards-based D2D and are planning to deploy new technology quickly, and at scale. The excitement makes sense because we know new devices can lower the barrier to entry for organizations by reducing the cost, complexity, and physical size of IoT terminals.

- Andy Kessler, Vice President, Viasat Enterprise