Sateliot adds five satellites to its constellation

Sateliot, the Barcelona-headquartered satellite telecommunications operator founded in 2018, is sending five nanosatellites to orbit on SpaceX's Draconis mission, which takes its constellation to 11 satellites.

The company builds and operates a low Earth orbit (LEO) nanosatellite constellation that works as wholesale mobile infrastructure, selling access to mobile network operators (MNOs) that need coverage where no terrestrial towers exist.

Those operators resell Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) connectivity to enterprises, whose devices use the standard 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) chipsets already embedded in existing IoT hardware, with no proprietary satellite equipment required.

The network runs on the 3GPP NB-IoT non-terrestrial network (NTN) standards, which let a compatible device move between terrestrial and satellite networks without any change on the device side.

Rivals built on proprietary protocols ask their customers to re-engineer hardware before they can connect, and Sateliot's alignment with the existing cellular device ecosystem removes that burden from the buyer entirely.

The next-generation Tritó satellite, due in 2027, is built on 3GPP Release 19, a specification frozen after the Technical Specification Group (TSG) plenary meetings held in Baltimore from 8 to 12 December 2025.

Release 19 completed IoT NTN among its features, so the standard itself is settled and what remains for Sateliot is its own engineering and commercial execution against a closed specification.

The five satellites each measure 20x10x35 cm and weigh 10 kg, were built by Alén Space and integrated by Exolaunch, and fly on a Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter-18 rideshare mission.

KSAT and Leaf Space provide ground station tracking, while Comfone supplies the internet packet exchange (IPX) interconnect that links the constellation to the mobile operators buying its capacity.

The commercial pressure behind the launch sits in the order book, where Sateliot carries precontracts valued at 270 million euros with over 400 clients, a pre-sold base that has to become deliverable service before customers look elsewhere.

"We have validated the technology and are now increasing capacity and regularity so we can scale the service together with mobile operators." — Jaume Sanpera, CEO and co-founder of Sateliot.

Those alternatives are real. Established operators such as Iridium and Globalstar bring existing networks, customers and deployment experience, while Skylo and OQ Technology pursue the market through NTN standardisation, hybrid solutions and MNO partnerships of their own.

Counterpoint Research's 2026 assessment of satellite IoT connectivity positions Iridium and Skylo as the Pacesetters, which leaves Sateliot competing for operator commitments against names already ranked at the front of the field.

For Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom and Vivo in Brazil, all of which have signed agreements with Sateliot, 11 satellites in orbit are the operational proof they need before committing to full commercial deployment.

For an enterprise running sensors beyond the reach of any tower, the added capacity and regularity decide whether satellite coverage can be written into a service contract through its existing mobile operator rather than bought separately.

The capital story runs in parallel. Sateliot closed a Series B of 70 million euros in March 2025 to fund deployment of a 100-satellite 5G-IoT constellation, and a Series C targeting 100 million euro remains open.

The Spanish government holds a stake in the company, and Sateliot anticipates up to 50% public co-financing through match funding for the Series C, an advantage purely private rivals cannot draw on.

The distance between 11 satellites and a planned 100 is the figure Series C investors will price, and the signal worth watching is whether Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom or Vivo move from signed agreements to full commercial deployment before the round closes.