O2 and SpaceX satellite LTE in the UK
In 2024, O2 UK and SpaceX announced a partnership to deliver satellite LTE coverage using Starlink’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. The service uses standard cellular frequencies, allowing existing LTE devices — including IoT routers and M2M modems — to connect to satellites as if they were ground-based cell towers. Coverage targets areas of the UK with no existing O2 LTE ground coverage.
For UK IoT deployments this is significant: many agricultural, maritime, utilities and infrastructure M2M applications are deployed in areas that currently have no viable cellular option. Satellite LTE could extend the reach of standard IoT hardware into these areas without specialist satellite modems.
Technical considerations for satellite IoT
| Factor | LEO satellite LTE | Ground LTE (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| Latency | 20–100ms (LEO) | 10–30ms |
| Throughput | Limited (shared satellite capacity) | High (dedicated ground cell) |
| Doppler shift | Significant (LEO orbital velocity) | None |
| NB-IoT support | Uncertain (Doppler challenges CE Mode B) | Supported (EE, Vodafone) |
| RSRP characteristics | Different from ground cell | Standard |
| Handover frequency | High (LEO orbit) | Low (static deployment) |
Implications for IoT SIM agreements
If satellite LTE is delivered over the O2 network, it falls within the reach of any SIM with O2 roaming rights. UK IoT SIM providers holding roaming agreements with O2 could potentially extend satellite LTE connectivity to their existing customers without new SIM provisioning — depending on how O2 implements roaming access to the satellite layer. This is an evolving area and specific operator policies are not yet confirmed.
Testing satellite LTE with CellTester
CellTester reads signal from the modem in the router — regardless of whether that modem is connected to a ground tower or a satellite. If O2’s satellite LTE delivers standard LTE metrics (RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, PCI), CellTester will read and report them. The commissioning workflow — sweep, aim, configure, certificate — applies equally to satellite LTE as to ground cellular, with the caveat that antenna direction for satellite LTE is less relevant given the moving satellite source.