Satellite D2D technology is proven, but achieving ubiquitous US coverage depends on interoperability, argues Dr. Lee W. McKnight at Syracuse University. He examines why cooperation between carriers, satellite operators, and regulators is essential to transform D2D connectivity into resilient national infrastructure.
The debate over whether satellite direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity can work at scale is over. It can. The question now is whether it can work for everyone – reliably, seamlessly, and on a national scale. That challenge is less about rockets or smartphones than something far less glamorous: interoperability.
The joint venture recently announced by AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to expand satellite D2D connectivity across the US is more than another telecom partnership. It is a recognition that the next generation of wireless infrastructure cannot be built by companies operating in isolation. If the US wants truly ubiquitous connectivity, the nation’s largest carriers will have to cooperate.
That may sound counterintuitive. But history suggests otherwise. The technologies that transformed the modern economy, from the internet to GPS and cellular standards, succeeded because competitors agreed on common frameworks that made innovation possible.
Satellite connectivity is at that same inflection point.
T-Mobile’s 2022 partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink succeeded in demonstrating that your smartphone could connect directly to low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites without specialized hardware. T-Mobile’s leadership validated the concept and demonstrated D2D’s potential, particularly for rural communities and emergency communications.
It also revealed the limitations of the single-carrier approach.
No operator controls enough spectrum, satellite infrastructure, or market reach to deliver seamless nationwide service. Spectrum holdings are fragmented and LEO satellite constellations are being built by multiple companies, including Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, and Amazon Leo – each with different orbital parameters, frequency plans, and device standards. Until now, satellite providers have had to negotiate separate agreements with every carrier, slowing deployment and limiting market reach.
The real obstacle today is fragmentation, not technological capability.
The joint venture has the potential to address that fragmentation by creating the technical and commercial alignment needed for satellite connectivity to mature into national infrastructure.
Interoperability in D2D satellite connectivity operates on three levels.
The first is spectrum coordination. Delivering nationwide service requires carriers to manage different spectrum holdings across different regulatory frameworks. A joint venture provides a practical mechanism for aligning those resources and offers regulators and satellite providers a single point of engagement rather than separate, disjointed negotiations.
The second is technical compatibility. You should not have to think about whether your phone is connecting through a terrestrial tower or a satellite hundreds of miles overhead. As people move across coverage zones served by different networks, carriers and satellite systems, those transitions must happen invisibly and reliably. International standards governing non-terrestrial networks provide a critical foundation, but implementation decisions still create friction and add unnecessary costs. Coordinated deployment can readily solve many of those problems.
The third, and perhaps most overlooked, is market interoperability.
By creating a unified access pathway, the joint venture could lower barriers to entry for operators seeking to reach US customers at scale. That may seem unusual coming from the country’s three largest wireless companies, but reducing complexity could actually encourage more competition by making it easier for new entrants to participate.
In addition, large parts of the US still lack reliable wireless coverage. In many remote areas, building traditional terrestrial infrastructure simply does not make economic sense. Satellite direct-to-device technology offers one of the few credible ways to close those connectivity gaps.
The public safety benefits are equally significant. Natural disasters routinely damage the very communications infrastructure communities depend on. A resilient satellite layer that customers can access regardless of carrier could strengthen the nation’s emergency communications capabilities at a time when severe weather events are becoming more frequent and more disruptive.
In this case, the public interest is served not by siloed competition but by strategic coordination.
Regulators appear to recognize that reality. The Federal Communications Commission has already signaled its understanding of the rationale behind coordinated satellite deployments, including recent approvals tied to low-band spectrum partnerships and defined buildout obligations. In other words, policy is moving in the same direction as the technology.
Perhaps most importantly, the benefits of interoperability will not stop with text messages and voice calls.
The same framework that supports smartphone connectivity could eventually enable a new generation of connected agriculture, remote asset monitoring, environmental sensing, and other applications in places where terrestrial networks cannot economically or reliably reach.
The decisions being made now about spectrum coordination, technical standards and market access will shape what is possible for the next decade of harmonized satellite and terrestrial wireless connectivity in the US.
A partnership involving the nation’s three largest carriers will inevitably draw scrutiny. It should be judged not by whether coordination exists, because of course it does, but by whether that coordination remains open, transparent, and accessible to satellite providers that want to participate.
Those are legitimate questions. But the larger reality should not be missed. Direct to Device technology has arrived. The US regulatory environment is increasingly supportive. What remains is the hard work of building the interoperability infrastructure that can turn a promising innovation into a national asset.
America’s next leap in connectivity will not come from any one company acting alone. It will come from creating a system where networks work together – so that, wherever Americans are, they can stay connected.
Lee W. McKnight directs the ABC Innovation Lab and is an Associate Professor at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool), where he researches telecommunications policy, wireless network economics, cyberphysical systems architecture, and information security policy.
