A rendering of one of the 100 LEO satellites EchoStar ordered from MDA Space. Credit: EchoStar

At the recent Mobile World Conference 2026 in Barcelona, the strong presence of Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite services and the avalanche of press releases related to contracts signed between D2D satellite service providers and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) gave the impression that large scale implementation of D2D services by MNOs is imminent. However, the truth is quite different.

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Enrico Ottolini is co-founder and executive director of Planet Earth Connect. He has more than 25 years of extensive international experience in both the mobile and satellite communications industry. Based on this experience, he guides telecom operators...