NTN OSS realities: A live, pre-MWC discussion

“It’s almost sort of like a 4D paradigm instead of a 3D paradigm.”

Satellite coverage will be one of the defining themes at #MWC26. A critical conversation happening beneath the headlines will be what actually changes when satellites become part of a mobile network’s operating model.

On our Zero-Touch Live pre-MWC episode, Geoff Hollingworth spoke with Rakuten Symphony's Anshul Bhatt about what shifts operationally when NTN moves from concept to commercial reality. The discussion focused on OSS, assurance and real-world integration challenges rather than theory.

📺 Watch the replay below.

When time becomes part of the network

In terrestrial networks, antennas are fixed and users move. In NTN, users are relatively stationary while satellites move at kilometers per second. That simple reversal introduces time as a first-class dimension in the network.

Geoff and Anshul discussed this new reality, with key takeaways from the conversation including:

• Dynamic topology changes how OSS works. Traditional OSS assumes a largely static network. In NTN, coverage areas move, handovers are network-initiated, and assurance systems must understand when service is actually active during satellite pass windows.
• Service awareness reshapes monitoring and SLAs. Availability cannot be measured across a flat 24-hour model. Incident priority, anomaly detection and capacity planning must account for satellite passes and the reality that “there is a busy hour at some point in Earth” at all times.
• Global beams meet regional regulation. Satellites move across borders, but data cannot. Multi-tenant architectures, localized ground stations and GDPR-aligned designs are required to reconcile global coverage with regional governance.

As Anshul emphasized, the technology challenges are solvable. The harder work is adapting architectures, data models and operational processes to a network that is no longer static.

👉 Watch the full conversation for a deeper look at how OSS, assurance and testing must evolve as NTN becomes part of the mobile coverage fabric.

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