The imminent market entry of several direct-to-device (D2D) LEO satellite constellations standardized to use telecom protocols by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the global organization that develops the standards for terrestrial and non-terrestrial cellular communication, has sparked a wave of excitement around the world. In particular, these systems can play a huge role in the global south, serving to connect the roughly 3 billion currently unconnected people living and working outside of the coverage of terrestrial cellular networks.

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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...