NICE, FRANCE — Marking a major step forward for the global standardization of the Direct-to-Device (D2D) ecosystem, satellite communications giant Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) and WiSig Networks, an IIT Hyderabad-incubated deep-tech company, have officially launched global testing of a newly developed, “Made-in-India” 5G satellite Internet of Things (IoT) chipset.
Announced at the Bharat Innovates 2026 deep-tech showcase in Nice, France—held as part of the formal India–France Year of Innovation—the hardware module has entered advanced evaluation at Viasat’s specialized laboratories in the United Kingdom. The testing will validate the chipset’s ability to communicate directly with Viasat’s globally positioned L-band geostationary satellite fleet.
Bridging the Cellular-Satellite Divide
Historically, satellite IoT systems have relied on highly proprietary, closed hardware architectures. If an enterprise wanted to track an asset moving through areas without cellular coverage, they were forced to buy network-specific modems and antennas that could not interact with ordinary terrestrial cellular towers.
The Viasat-WiSig collaboration aims to dismantle these technological silos by introducing a device class built entirely around 3GPP Release 17 standards. Specifically designed for Narrowband-IoT Non-Terrestrial Networks (NB-IoT NTN), Release 17 acts as a universal “rulebook” that allows standard cellular protocols to be read directly by satellites orbiting thousands of miles away.
WiSig developed the entire technology stack from the ground up, including the baseband processor, the radio-frequency system-on-chip (RF SoC), and the compact communication module. By ensuring the chip supports both L-band and S-band satellite frequencies, WiSig has engineered a highly adaptable component capable of delivering secure two-way messaging, real-time location streaming, and low-rate telemetry.
Years of Battery Life for Heavy Industry
Because the chipset relies on narrowband protocols, it is engineered for ultra-low power consumption. Connected field devices utilizing the module can operate autonomously with a target battery life measured in years rather than days—a critical requirement for industrial operations deployed in harsh, inaccessible environments.
If laboratory validation proves successful, Viasat plans to integrate the WiSig module as a low-cost, mass-producible entry point into its expanding global connectivity portfolio. Targeted applications cross several high-stakes enterprise and civil sectors:
- Maritime Operations: Providing continuous tracking for commercial shipping, cargo containers, and remote regional fishing fleets.
- Industrial Telemetry: Powering automated monitoring systems for isolated infrastructure across the agriculture, energy, utilities, and mining sectors.
- Disaster Response: Enabling resilient, safety-of-life communications and humanitarian logistics routing in isolated crisis zones when terrestrial cell towers are completely destroyed.
India’s Semiconductor Ambitions Move to Space
For India’s technology sector, the partnership represents an important industrial milestone. The development of the WiSig chipset was heavily backed by Indian government-led initiatives under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Rather than merely acting as a massive consumer market for foreign telecom hardware, the validation of an indigenous chip on a premier global satellite platform positions India as a primary architecture contributor to the underlying technologies shaping the future 5G-Advanced and upcoming 6G NTN frameworks.
By establishing a standards-compliant device that can effortlessly jump between terrestrial networks and space networks, the collaboration brings the industry one step closer to true “universal connectivity”—where low-power sensors can maintain a continuous data link anywhere on the planet without a single change in hardware.
