The SatCom Atlas

United States Space Force (Space Systems Command)

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• Q/V (37–50 GHz)

Protected US strategic and tactical satellite communications system in geostationary orbit, using EHF uplinks near 44 GHz and SHF downlinks near 20 GHz. Six satellites were launched between 2010 and 2020.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

6

Uplink:

44000 MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

Amazon (Kuiper Systems LLC)

• Dish or steered array
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• Optical (~1,550 nm)

Amazon's Ka-band LEO broadband constellation, renamed from Project Kuiper in November 2025, with roughly 396 satellites in orbit, custom silicon and an optical mesh. Gen2 approval brings the planned total to about 7,700, and Amazon is acquiring Globalstar alongside an Apple partnership.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

396

Uplink:

27500-30000 (Ka user) MHz

Regions:

North America, Europe

AMSAT-UK / AMSAT-NL

• Standard radio equipment
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• VHF (137–150 MHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

A 1U CubeSat flown since November 2013 carrying an inverting U/V linear transponder for SSB and CW plus an educational telemetry beacon. After a year of battery management the transponder was restarted and now runs on night passes and at weekends.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Uplink:

435.130-435.150 (LSB/CW) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

AST SpaceMobile, Inc.

• Your existing phone
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)
• L (1–2 GHz)

Flies the largest commercial LEO antennas ever built, with Block 2 BlueBirds unfolding to roughly 64 square metres, to deliver broadband-class direct-to-phone service in partner low-band spectrum. Ten satellites are operational after the June 2026 launch, with FCC authorization for 248 granted in April 2026. In June 2026 Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications awarded up to 148 billion yen (about one billion dollars) to a Rakuten Mobile and AST SpaceMobile joint venture to build a sovereign direct-to-device network, beating a KDDI-SpaceX bid; Japan approved the 700 MHz band for satellite D2D on 24 June 2026 and Rakuten is the only Japanese carrier holding it. Ten BlueBirds are in orbit as of mid-2026, five Block 1 and five Block 2.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

10

Uplink:

700/800 MHz partner low-band MHz

Astrocast SA

• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)

Swiss L-band nanosatellite IoT pioneer that launched up to 20 satellites, then failed to raise funding, delisted from Euronext Growth Oslo in 2024 and went private. Status is genuinely unclear: its site and Astronode documentation remain live as of July 2026, and we could not independently confirm reports that the service has ended. Verify directly before relying on it.

Status:

Operational

EchoStar Mobile Limited / EchoStar Corporation

• Dedicated satphone
• Embedded module
• GEO (35,786 km)
• S (2–4 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

A 30 MHz paired 2 GHz S-band holding running Europe's only bidirectional, real-time satellite LoRa network from a single GEO satellite (EchoStar XXI at 10.25 deg East), so there is no pass scheduling as with LEO IoT. The matching US AWS-4/H-block spectrum was sold to SpaceX with FCC approval in May 2026; the European licence position around its 2027 horizon remains in flux, with both extension and contest reported.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Uplink:

1980-2010 MHz

Regions:

Europe

European Commission (DG DEFIS), implemented by EUSPA

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• X (7–8 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

EU framework that pools existing national governmental satellite capacity and makes it available to authorised EU public users through the GOVSATCOM Hub. Initial operations began in January 2026 with an interim hub operated by EUSPA; it precedes the IRIS-squared constellation.

Status:

Operational

Regions:

Europe

Eutelsat Group

• Dish or steered array
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• Ku (10.7–14.5 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

The world's first combined GEO-LEO operator, pairing Eutelsat's GEO fleet with OneWeb's 648-satellite bent-pipe constellation at 1,200 km. 440 next-generation satellites have been ordered from Airbus with deliveries from late 2026, aligned to 5G/NTN standards.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

648

Uplink:

14000-14500 (Ku user) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL)

• Standard radio equipment
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• VHF (137–150 MHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

Launched in August 1996 and still running its inverting linear transponder on solar power alone after its batteries failed, a monument to conservative engineering. It entered an extended full-sunlight period from about May to November 2026, during which the transponder stays on continuously.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Uplink:

145.900-146.000 (LSB) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Globalstar, Inc. (being acquired by Amazon)

• Dedicated satphone
• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)
• S (2–4 GHz)

A 1,414 km LEO constellation on proprietary CDMA whose spectrum became 3GPP NTN band n254, and the network quietly carrying Apple's Emergency SOS and satellite Messages. Amazon agreed on 14 April 2026 to acquire the company for about $11.57 billion, with closing expected in 2027 pending FCC and DOJ review.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

24

Uplink:

1610-1618.725 MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Asia, Oceania

China SatNet (China Satellite Network Group)

• Dish or steered array
• Sovereign equipment
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• Ku (10.7–14.5 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

China's state-backed national LEO broadband megaconstellation, operated by China SatNet and filed with the ITU for 12,992 satellites. Roughly 190 satellites were in orbit by mid-2026, with the deployment rate required to ramp sharply to protect its spectrum rights. NO PUBLIC ACCESS!

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

190

Hubble Network Inc.

• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• S (2–4 GHz)

Seattle operator that demonstrated the first direct connection from standard off-the-shelf Bluetooth Low Energy chips to a satellite in March 2026, so existing devices reach orbit via a firmware update with no new radio hardware. Seven satellites fly today, scaling toward 60 by 2028.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

7

Uplink:

2400-2483.5 MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Hughes Network Systems (EchoStar)

• Dish or steered array
• GEO (35,786 km)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• Q/V (37–50 GHz)

The classic US and Latin American consumer GEO broadband service, running the DVB-S2X-based JUPITER ground system across a Ka-band fleet whose flagship JUPITER 3 is the largest commercial communications satellite ever built. Strategically being wound down toward direct-to-device and 5G after EchoStar's spectrum sales.

Status:

Operational

Uplink:

29500-30000 (Ka user) MHz

Regions:

North America, South & Central America

Iridium Communications Inc.

• Dedicated satphone
• Satellite-band chipset
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

The only genuinely global satellite network, using 66 cross-linked LEO satellites at 780 km to deliver voice, Certus broadband up to ~700 kbps, and SBD messaging everywhere on Earth including both poles. The Iridium NEXT fleet completed in 2019 is rated to roughly 2035. Iridium also delivers Satellite Time and Location (STL), an alternative-PNT service broadcast over the existing constellation's paging channel rather than a separate system: it acquired Satelles outright in March 2024 for about $115 million and now runs it as an internal business line, projecting over $100 million in annual alt-PNT revenue by 2030.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

66

Uplink:

1616-1626.5 MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Iridium Communications Inc.

• Satellite-band chipset
• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)

Iridium re-tasked its existing 66-satellite constellation to run 3GPP NB-IoT NTN by software upgrade alone, aligned to Release 19. First on-air two-way messages flew in January 2026 on a Nordic nRF9151 module, with chipset partners in live testing and commercial availability targeted for late 2026.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

66

Uplink:

1616-1626.5 MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

European Union / SpaceRISE consortium

• Sovereign equipment
• Dish or steered array
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• MEO (~8,000–20,000 km)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

The EU's €10.6 billion public-private secure connectivity programme, a 290-satellite multi-orbit constellation delivered by the SpaceRISE consortium of SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat. First launches are expected around 2029 with service around 2030; EU GOVSATCOM pooling went live as an interim measure in January 2026.

Status:

Planned / pre-launch

In orbit:

0

ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station)

• Standard radio equipment
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• VHF (137–150 MHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

The radio system aboard the ISS runs a cross-band FM repeater and an APRS packet digipeater that any licensed amateur can work with modest equipment, alongside scheduled school contacts and periodic SSTV events.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Uplink:

145.990 (repeater, 67 Hz CTCSS); 145.825 (APRS) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

Crown Prince Foundation, Jordan (FUNcube family)

• Standard radio equipment
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• VHF (137–150 MHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

Jordan's first CubeSat, launched December 2018 and named for the late King Hussein's callsign JY1. It carries a FUNcube-family inverting linear transponder plus an SSDV system that downlinks stored images.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Uplink:

435.100-435.120 (LSB/CW) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Kinéis SAS (CLS / CNES heritage)

• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

French sovereign IoT and AIS constellation of 25 nanosatellites carrying the Argos scientific heritage (CNES/NOAA/EUMETSAT/ISRO), commercially operational since 2025. One of the few narrowband systems whose chipsets are openly licensable rather than operator-gated.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

25

Uplink:

401.65 MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Lacuna Space Ltd

• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)
• S (2–4 GHz)

UK operator flying LoneWhisper LR-FHSS payloads, a low-power satellite adaptation of LoRa compatible with ordinary LoRaWAN sensors, extending terrestrial LoRa networks into orbit. Since January 2026 it has opened the Lacuna Network as a federated constellation other operators and nations can join.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

6

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Ligado Networks

• Dedicated satphone
• Satellite-band chipset
• GEO (35,786 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)

A single GEO satellite with a 22-metre reflector holding fully licensed North American L-band MSS spectrum, stabilized after an April 2023 anomaly and now carrying NB-NTN direct-to-device service through Skylo since January 2026. Ligado proposed in March 2026 to host an L-band payload called SkyTerra Next aboard AST SpaceMobile's LEO satellites.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Uplink:

1626.5-1660.5 MHz

Regions:

North America

Lynk Global, Inc. (merging with Omnispace)

• Your existing phone
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)
• S (2–4 GHz)

A direct-to-phone operator running intermittent messaging and alerting from six satellites, with two phases of 320 satellites planned. Its merger with Omnispace, backed by SES as a strategic shareholder, adds 60 MHz of globally coordinated S-band; commercial service is targeted for 2027.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

6

Uplink:

1980-2010 (via Omnispace S-band) MHz

Regions:

Oceania

US Space Force Space Systems Command, Narrowband SATCOM Division

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

US narrowband military UHF satellite communications system in geostationary orbit, carrying a WCDMA-based payload alongside a legacy UHF transponder payload. Two additional satellites were procured for launch no earlier than 2031 and 2032.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

5

Uplink:

300-320 MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

Myriota Pty Ltd

• Embedded module
• Satellite-band chipset
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• VHF (137–150 MHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

Australian direct-to-orbit satellite IoT operator whose UltraLite constellation grew through Spire-hosted payloads during 2026. In July 2026 it folded terrestrial cellular into its HyperPulse 5G NTN service, moving from purely proprietary toward a 3GPP-aligned hybrid.

Status:

Operational

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Omnispace, LLC (merging with Lynk Global)

• Satellite-band chipset
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• S (2–4 GHz)

A Virginia operator whose real asset is 60 MHz of globally coordinated 2 GHz S-band with high-priority ITU filings for direct-to-device service. Its merger with Lynk Global, backed by SES as a major strategic shareholder, was still awaiting final regulatory approval as of April 2026.

Status:

Planned / pre-launch

Uplink:

1980-2010 MHz

OQ Technology S.à r.l.

• Embedded module
• Satellite-band chipset
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)
• S (2–4 GHz)

A Luxembourg operator and early NB-IoT NTN pioneer running a small LEO fleet with its own 3GPP-compliant NTN radio access network and 5G core. In December 2025 it demonstrated end-to-end NB-IoT connectivity direct from a Nordic Semiconductor nRF9151 module to its satellites.

Status:

Operational

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

ORBCOMM Inc.

• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• VHF (137–150 MHz)

The world's first commercial satellite network dedicated solely to IoT, still serving millions of subscribers across transport, maritime, energy and agriculture on a legacy VHF fleet. Its next-generation OGx service raises message sizes and delivery speeds.

Status:

Operational

Uplink:

148.0-150.05 MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

US Space Force, Space Development Agency

• Sovereign equipment
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• Optical (~1,550 nm)
• L (1–2 GHz)

US Space Development Agency low Earth orbit constellation combining Ka-band radio links, optical inter-satellite terminals and Link 16 payloads on Transport Layer vehicles. Tranche 1 launches began in 2025 and continued through 2026.

Status:

Launching / ramping

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (Spacesail)

• Dish or steered array
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• Ku (10.7–14.5 GHz)
• Q/V (37–50 GHz)

Shanghai's commercially framed answer to Starlink, backed by the Shanghai municipal government, with 238 satellites deployed as of early July 2026 against a 15,000-satellite goal by 2030. Ku-band user links with Q/V planned.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

238

Es'hailSat / AMSAT-DL / Qatar Amateur Radio Society

• Standard radio equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• S (2–4 GHz)
• X (7–8 GHz)

The first and only amateur radio transponder in geostationary orbit, carried on Es'hail-2 since 2018. The narrowband transponder carries SSB, CW and FreeDV while the wideband transponder carries genuine amateur DVB-S2 television. The single best legal platform for learning satellite RF hands-on.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Uplink:

2400.050-2400.300 (NB); 2401.5-2409.5 (WB) MHz

Regions:

Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, South & Central America, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Rivada Space Networks GmbH

• Dish or steered array
• Sovereign equipment
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• Optical (~1,550 nm)

A planned 600-satellite optical mesh network positioned on the claim that customer data never touches the terrestrial internet. No satellites had launched as of mid-2026 and its ITU milestone of 144 satellites by June 2026 was missed pending a waiver, so treat the 2027 service date sceptically.

Status:

Planned / pre-launch

In orbit:

0

Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), Germany

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• X (7–8 GHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

German armed forces satellite communications system in geostationary orbit providing SHF and UHF services via the COMSATBw-1 and COMSATBw-2 satellites. SATCOMBw Stufe 3, contracted to Airbus in 2024, adds two successor satellites planned for delivery in 2029.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

2

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia

Sateliot S.L.

• Embedded module
• Satellite-band chipset
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)
• S (2–4 GHz)

A Spanish LEO operator selling standards-based NB-IoT NTN as 5G roaming into terrestrial mobile operators, with six small satellites in orbit and around five more planned during 2026. Through 2026 it ran commercial demonstrations in Brazil and field trials with Turkcell, and signed a strategic partnership with Telenor IoT.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

6

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

SES S.A.

• Dish or steered array
• MEO (~8,000–20,000 km)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

The only significant MEO communications system, using software-defined beam-hopping payloads at ~8,000 km to deliver multi-gigabit throughput with roughly 150 ms latency. SES's completed Intelsat acquisition makes it a multi-orbit operator of around 120 satellites.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

10

Uplink:

27500-30000 (Ka user) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

Italian Ministry of Defence (operations with Telespazio, Leonardo Group)

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)
• X (7–8 GHz)

Italian military satellite communications system in geostationary orbit providing UHF and SHF services through SICRAL 1B (2009) and SICRAL 2 (2015). The SICRAL 3 successor pair adds a Ka-band payload and is scheduled for launch in 2027-2028. Capacity from this system is pooled into NATO SATCOM Services 6th Generation (NSS6G), the roughly one-billion-euro arrangement through which NATO buys satellite communications from January 2020 to the end of 2034: NATO has owned no satellites since 2005 and instead leases from France, Italy, the UK and the US, with Luxembourg (GovSat) and Spain (Hisdesat) joining in early 2025.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

2

Regions:

Europe

Skylo Technologies (service over other operators' satellites)

• Satellite-band chipset
• Embedded module
• GEO (35,786 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)
• S (2–4 GHz)

A non-terrestrial network operator that owns no satellites: Skylo provides the network core and back-office that turns other operators' geostationary L- and S-band capacity into standards-based NB-IoT NTN service, principally over Ligado's SkyTerra-1 (launched 2010) and, from May 2026, Space42's Thuraya-4. Commercial direct-to-device service went live in North America in late January 2024 and now reaches ordinary phones and vehicles through carrier partnerships. Viasat, one of its partners, has described its own involvement as a no-capex market-discovery phase. Judge it as a service layer and a set of roaming agreements, not as a fleet.

Status:

Operational

Uplink:

1626.5-1660.5 MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Asia, Oceania

UK Ministry of Defence (service delivery led by Babcock International)

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• X (7–8 GHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

UK military satellite communications fleet in geostationary orbit providing X-band and UHF services, operated under the Skynet 6 Service Delivery Wrap contract that began in March 2024. Skynet 6A, built by Airbus Defence and Space UK, is scheduled for launch in 2027. Capacity from this system is pooled into NATO SATCOM Services 6th Generation (NSS6G), the roughly one-billion-euro arrangement through which NATO buys satellite communications from January 2020 to the end of 2034: NATO has owned no satellites since 2005 and instead leases from France, Italy, the UK and the US, with Luxembourg (GovSat) and Spain (Hisdesat) joining in early 2025.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

4

Regions:

Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST)

• Standard radio equipment
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• VHF (137–150 MHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

The longest-serving FM repeater satellite in amateur radio, launched 20 December 2002 and still carrying its Mode J FM repeater experiment. An onboard timer must be armed with a two-second 74.4 Hz tone before the uplink will pass traffic.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Uplink:

145.850 (FM, 67.0 Hz CTCSS) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Hisdesat (Spain)

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• X (7–8 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

Spanish governmental satellite communications programme in geostationary orbit using X-band, military Ka-band and UHF, built on the Airbus Eurostar Neo platform. SpainSat NG I entered service in August 2025; NG II was declared non-recoverable in January 2026 and a replacement has been put out to tender.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia

SpaceX

• Dish or steered array
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• Ku (10.7–14.5 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• Optical (~1,550 nm)

The largest satellite system in history by an order of magnitude, with roughly 10,800 satellites in orbit as of mid-2026 and millions of subscribers. Ku-band user links to electronically steered terminals, Ka gateways and optical cross-links, on a closed proprietary OFDM-family waveform.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

10800

Uplink:

14000-14500 (Ku user) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

SpaceX

• Your existing phone
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)
• S (2–4 GHz)

SpaceX's direct-to-device layer: 650+ dedicated satellites at ~530-550 km transmitting in partner operator mid-band so unmodified phones see a fast-moving LTE cell. Live since July 2025 for texting, with app data since October 2025 and voice in beta.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

640

Uplink:

1910-1915 (PCS G-block, T-Mobile US) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Asia, Oceania

French Ministry of Armed Forces (DGA), with CNES

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• X (7–8 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

French military satellite communications programme in geostationary orbit using X-band and military Ka-band with anti-jamming provisions. Syracuse 4A launched in October 2021 and Syracuse 4B in July 2023; the programme is managed jointly by DGA and CNES. Capacity from this system is pooled into NATO SATCOM Services 6th Generation (NSS6G), the roughly one-billion-euro arrangement through which NATO buys satellite communications from January 2020 to the end of 2034: NATO has owned no satellites since 2005 and instead leases from France, Italy, the UK and the US, with Luxembourg (GovSat) and Spain (Hisdesat) joining in early 2025.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

2

Regions:

Europe, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia

Telesat

• Dish or steered array
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• Optical (~1,550 nm)

A 198-satellite regenerative LEO constellation built by MDA Space, offering Ka-band with guaranteed performance and optical inter-satellite links. Pathfinders are targeted for December 2026 with service from 2027.

Status:

Planned / pre-launch

In orbit:

0

Uplink:

27500-30000 (Ka user) MHz

TerreStar Solutions Inc.

• Dedicated satphone
• Satellite-band chipset
• GEO (35,786 km)
• S (2–4 GHz)
• L (1–2 GHz)

A Canadian-controlled mobile satellite operator, founded in 2008 by the team behind Fido, delivering the Strigo direct-to-mobile service over the EchoStar T1 GEO satellite where no terrestrial coverage exists. It launched Canada's first standards-based hybrid satellite-cellular IoT platform in February 2026 and is a Skylo footprint partner.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Regions:

North America

Tel Aviv University Space Engineering Center / Israel Space Agency

• Standard radio equipment
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• VHF (137–150 MHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

Nine 1U CubeSats built by Israeli high-school students under the Israel Space Agency and Tel Aviv University and launched in March 2025, each carrying a two-way FM repeater open to any licensed amateur. The primary science mission measures cosmic radiation in orbit.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

9

Uplink:

145.970 (FM) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Space42 (Thuraya mobility arm)

• Dedicated satphone
• Satellite-band chipset
• GEO (35,786 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)

The UAE's mobile satellite operator, run by Space42 after the 2024 Yahsat/Bayanat merger, with all legacy voice, SMS and packet services migrated onto the Thuraya-4 satellite that entered full service in late 2025. Thuraya-4 also carries standards-based direct-to-device traffic through a Skylo partnership announced in May 2026. Thuraya is the L-band mobility arm of Space42, formed in April 2024 by the merger of Yahsat and Bayanat under Mubadala in Abu Dhabi. Space42 operates six geostationary satellites in total: Al Yah 1, 2 and 3 alongside Thuraya-2, Thuraya-3 and Thuraya-4 NGS, the last of which Space42 itself calls the business's sixth geostationary satellite.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

3

Uplink:

1626.5-1660.5 MHz

Regions:

Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia

Viasat, Inc.

• Dedicated satphone
• Dish or steered array
• Satellite-band chipset
• GEO (35,786 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• S (2–4 GHz)

The Inmarsat heritage fleet under Viasat ownership since 2023, split between the ELERA L-band network for resilient narrowband and safety services and the Ka-band broadband fleet anchored by the ViaSat-3 class, whose F3 satellite is designed for more than 1 Tbps over Asia-Pacific. Its L-band plan is the exact frequency pair 3GPP later standardized as NTN band n255. Viasat operates 23 in-service satellites as of 31 March 2026: 13 Ka-band, 8 L-band (three of them contingency spacecraft not in commercial service), one S-band supporting the European Aviation Network, and one hybrid Ka/L. The L-band fleet came with Inmarsat, acquired in May 2023.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

23

Uplink:

1626.5-1660.5 (L, plus 1668-1675 extension); 27.5-30 GHz (GX Ka) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

United States Space Force (Space Systems Command), with international partners

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• X (7–8 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

US wideband military communications fleet in geostationary orbit operating X- and Ka-band services. Ten satellites were launched between 2007 and 2019; WGS-11+ and WGS-12 are in production. Capacity from this system is pooled into NATO SATCOM Services 6th Generation (NSS6G), the roughly one-billion-euro arrangement through which NATO buys satellite communications from January 2020 to the end of 2034: NATO has owned no satellites since 2005 and instead leases from France, Italy, the UK and the US, with Luxembourg (GovSat) and Spain (Hisdesat) joining in early 2025.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

10

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

SES S.A.

• Dish or steered array
• GEO (35,786 km)
• C (4–8 GHz)
• Ku (10.7–14.5 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)
• X (7–8 GHz)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

The largest GEO operator in the world after completing its acquisition of Intelsat on 17 July 2025, giving a combined multi-orbit fleet of about 120 spacecraft: roughly 90 in geostationary orbit and nearly 30 in MEO. Sells wholesale capacity and managed services across media, aviation, maritime and government, with C, Ku, Ka, military Ka, X and UHF payloads. Its MEO arm is listed separately as O3b mPOWER. SES has since cancelled the Intelsat-41 and Intelsat-44 orders, so the GEO fleet is consolidating rather than growing.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

90

Uplink:

5850-6725 (C) / 14000-14500 (Ku) / 27500-30000 (Ka) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

Eutelsat Group

• Dish or steered array
• GEO (35,786 km)
• C (4–8 GHz)
• Ku (10.7–14.5 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

The geostationary half of the first combined GEO-LEO operator, sitting alongside the OneWeb constellation listed separately. Eutelsat holds 31 key orbital slots carrying C, Ku and Ka capacity for broadcast, enterprise, government, aviation and maritime, and still earns more from GEO than from its LEO arm. The operator publishes its orbital-slot count rather than a satellite count, so no fleet total is recorded here. Like SES, Eutelsat has pulled back from GEO expansion.

Status:

Operational

Uplink:

14000-14500 (Ku) / 27500-30000 (Ka) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania

Xona Space Systems

• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)

A commercial low-Earth-orbit alternative to GNSS, broadcasting encrypted positioning signals reported at roughly 100 times GPS received power and far harder to jam. The Pulsar-0 demonstrator reached orbit in June 2025 and validated the architecture; Xona has since ordered eight more satellites from Aerospacelab, with operational launches beginning late 2026 and service from 2027. The 258-satellite target and the X1/X5 band details come from company statements that independent verification could not corroborate, so treat both as lower confidence than the flight hardware.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

1

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Astranis Space Technologies

• Dish or steered array
• GEO (35,786 km)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

Small geostationary satellites of roughly 400 kg delivering about 12 Gbps each, sold one satellite per customer instead of as shared fleet capacity: Anuvu for inflight connectivity, Orbits Corp in the Philippines, Apco Networks in Mexico, Pacific Dataport in Alaska and Thaicom. Four launched together in December 2024 alongside 2023 pathfinder Arcturus, making Astranis the fourth company ever to put four or more satellites into GEO in a single year. One of the five, UtilitySat, is reported to have failed during orbit raising, so the operational count is four against five launched.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

4

Uplink:

27500-30000 (Ka) MHz

Regions:

North America, South & Central America, Asia

Kepler Communications

• Space Segment User Terminal
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• Optical (~1,550 nm)

The first commercial optical data relay constellation, and the clearest commercial answer to NASA retiring TDRS. Kepler pivoted from IoT store-and-forward to laser relay, launching its first tranche of ten roughly 300 kg optical relay satellites on 11 January 2026 for 33 launched in total. Each carries SDA-compatible optical terminals plus multi-GPU on-orbit compute, and the network has validated space-to-space, space-to-ground and space-to-air laser links. Customers are satellite operators, not people on the ground.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

33

FOSSA Systems

• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• UHF (400–470 MHz)

Spain's most active satellite operator, running LoRa and NB-IoT direct-to-satellite links for low-power sensors. 25 satellites orbited toward a 140-satellite target, spanning 10 kg picosatellites to 150 kg microsatellites, after a EUR 9.25 million round in June 2026 led by Kibo Ventures brought total funding to nearly EUR 20 million. Now expanding beyond commercial IoT into signals-intelligence payloads and selected for NATO's DIANA programme, alongside the Spanish Atlantic Constellation contract.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

25

Uplink:

~400-450 (UHF) MHz

Regions:

Europe, North America, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Polar (Arctic & Antarctic)

Guodian Gaoke

• Embedded module
• LEO (~300–2,000 km)
• L (1–2 GHz)

China's most established satellite IoT constellation, at 41 satellites after completing a first phase that ran from 2018 to 2025. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology approved a two-year commercial trial from 6 May 2026, so the service is in trial rather than full commercial status. It already carries paying enterprise traffic in forestry, agriculture, aquaculture, petroleum, emergency response and smart cities, with terminals under 1,000 yuan, and later phases are intended to add direct-to-device links for phones and wearables. Band is inferred from its NB-IoT profile and a December 2025 ITU filing covering VHF and L; it is not separately confirmed.

Status:

Launching / ramping

In orbit:

41

Regions:

Asia

Airbus Defence and Space, with ESA

• Space Segment User Terminal
• GEO (35,786 km)
• Optical (~1,550 nm)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

A public-private partnership between ESA and Airbus, with Airbus owning and operating the infrastructure. Two geostationary nodes pull data off low-orbit satellites over 1,064 nm laser links at up to 1.8 Gbit/s and hand it down in Ka band, moving 50 terabytes a day and removing the wait for a spacecraft to fly over a ground station. In service more than eight years, with 80,000 successful laser connections at 99.53 per cent reliability as of October 2024 and over 2.5 petabytes downloaded. Anchor users are the European Commission and the Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 missions, plus a Ka-band link to the ISS Columbus module since 2020.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

2

Arab Satellite Communications Organization

• Dish or steered array
• GEO (35,786 km)
• C (4–8 GHz)
• Ku (10.7–14.5 GHz)
• Ka (17.7–30 GHz)

The only satellite operator headquartered in the MENA region offering both broadcast and telecommunications services, with eight satellites at three orbital slots and regional beams reaching North West Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, the eastern Middle East and Central Asia. The 26 degrees East position is the region's main broadcast neighbourhood. Arabsat-7A, a software-defined satellite carrying high-throughput Ku and digital C-band capacity, is the next addition.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

8

Uplink:

5850-6725 (C) / 14000-14500 (Ku) MHz

Regions:

Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia

China SatCom (retail service by China Telecom)

• Dedicated satphone
• GEO (35,786 km)
• S (2–4 GHz)

China's national mobile satellite service, started in 2011 after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake exposed how fragile terrestrial networks are in a disaster. Three geostationary S-band satellites, each a roughly 5,400 kg DFH-4 platform carrying a large unfurlable dish so ordinary handhelds can close the link, with a fourth planned. Notable as the first system to put satellite calling into a mainstream phone: Huawei Mate 50 and Mate 60 handsets connect to Tiantong directly. Operated by China SatCom; China Telecom is the retail service provider.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

3

Uplink:

1980-2010 (S) MHz

Regions:

Asia, Middle East, Africa

DSN Corporation for the Japan Self-Defense Forces

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• X (7–8 GHz)

Japan's dedicated military satellite communications fleet, run under a private finance initiative by DSN Corporation on behalf of the Self-Defense Forces. Three X-band geostationary satellites, Kirameki 1 to 3, with Kirameki 3 launched on an H3 rocket in November 2024. Japan is funding a next-generation defence communications satellite at an estimated 800 million dollars as part of a defence space budget that has grown more than tenfold since 2020, so the programme is expanding rather than winding down. Not commercially available.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

3

Uplink:

7900-8400 (X) MHz

Regions:

Asia, Oceania

Indian Navy, built and launched by ISRO

• Sovereign equipment
• GEO (35,786 km)
• C (4–8 GHz)
• Ku (10.7–14.5 GHz)

The Indian Navy's replacement for GSAT-7 Rukmini, launched on 2 November 2025 aboard LVM3-M5 and at 4,410 kg the heaviest satellite India has put into geostationary transfer orbit. Carries C, extended-C and Ku band payloads over the Indian Ocean region with a 15-year design life, linking ships, submarines and aircraft to shore. Part of ISRO's CMS communications-satellite series, following CMS-02 (GSAT-24). Sovereign system, not commercially available.

Status:

Operational

In orbit:

1

Uplink:

5850-6725 (C) MHz

Regions:

Asia, Middle East