Nordic Semiconductor is extending satellite connectivity further into the conventional IoT hardware stack, with embedded modem maker LooUQ gaining Skylo certification for a module designed to let industrial devices move between terrestrial cellular networks and satellite coverage without requiring manufacturers to build a separate communications system.

The MTC2-N9151 modem is based on Nordic’s nRF9151 cellular IoT module, which supports LTE-M, NB-IoT, and 3GPP-standardised non-terrestrial network connectivity. Because certification has been completed further down the technology stack, LooUQ says manufacturers can avoid repeating a significant portion of the engineering and testing usually associated with adding satellite communications.

Remote industrial sensors are often deployed for years in locations where cellular coverage is intermittent or absent, including agricultural sites, water systems, energy infrastructure, transport routes, and dispersed physical assets. Proprietary satellite hardware can address that gap, although it also adds cost, power consumption, integration work, certification requirements, and another supplier relationship to devices that are usually designed to remain relatively simple.

Nordic’s approach keeps satellite access inside the same standards family already used for cellular IoT, allowing compatible products to switch between terrestrial and satellite connectivity according to coverage. The nRF9151 combines a cellular modem, application processor, satellite support, positioning, and security functions, while LooUQ has wrapped that capability into a more complete modem and antenna design.

Standardisation changes the engineering burden

Non-terrestrial networking has existed for decades in specialist forms, but integrating it into mainstream IoT products has generally required hardware and commercial arrangements that differ substantially from ordinary mobile deployments. The arrival of 3GPP-standardised NB-NTN changes that architecture by allowing satellite coverage to behave more like an extension of cellular infrastructure than a separate communications category.

Skylo provides the satellite network service through mobile-network partnerships, Nordic supplies the standards-compatible endpoint inside the device, and LooUQ packages the hardware into a certified embedded modem. Moving more of the work into reusable components reduces the amount of radio engineering a product maker has to complete independently before getting a connected device into service.

The first cited deployment comes from US water-technology company Remsight, which is using the modem in solar-powered sensors monitoring irrigation infrastructure across remote areas of the American West. Water managers in those locations have traditionally relied on manual inspection where conventional mobile coverage cannot consistently reach, making missed connectivity an operational constraint rather than simply an inconvenience.

Although that deployment is outside Europe, Nordic’s position in the supply chain gives the technology broader relevance across European agriculture, maritime operations, energy, logistics, environmental monitoring, and utilities. Norway’s geography alone provides extensive examples of physical infrastructure located beyond reliable terrestrial coverage, while similar conditions exist across sparsely populated parts of the Nordics, Iberia, and Central and Eastern Europe.

The attraction for equipment makers lies primarily in reducing product complexity. Reusing a certified module can shorten development cycles, limit duplicated radio testing, and allow smaller manufacturers to add satellite fallback without building the same specialist capability historically required for bespoke integrations.

Those savings become more material for industrial products sold in lower volumes, where certification and engineering costs are spread across fewer devices. A sensor intended to remain in the field for a decade may also justify additional connectivity options more readily than a consumer device with a much shorter replacement cycle.

Certification does not remove the underlying constraints. Performance still depends on antenna placement, power budgets, the surrounding environment, commercial network arrangements, and the coverage offered by the satellite service, while manufacturers remain responsible for validating complete devices for their intended use.

There is also an important distinction between connectivity resilience and network capacity. NB-NTN is suited to small telemetry messages, sensor readings, location data, and alerts rather than high-bandwidth applications, which makes it appropriate for industrial IoT without making it a substitute for fibre, private 5G, or conventional mobile broadband.

Nordic’s nRF9151 has been commercially available since 2025, and LooUQ’s modem and development kits are now available for product design. As certification moves down through modules and finished products, satellite IoT is beginning to look less like a specialist communications project and more like another component decision inside ordinary industrial device engineering.