NTT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cailabs in a bid to connect satellites with ground-based networks using optical communications technology.
As a result, the partnership will focus on connecting satellite networks with terrestrial data infrastructure using optical technology.
As part of the work, the companies will also look at integrating NTT’s digital coherent and network control technology into Cailabs’ optical ground stations (OGS).
They will also explore linking some of Cailabs’ ground stations directly to nearby NTT data centres through NTT’s All-Photonics Network (APN), the pair revealed.
For NTT, the project also brings its IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) technology into the space sector, following the company already having developed optical communications and networking technologies as part of its wider IOWN initiative.
The pair will also study how ground stations, terrestrial optical networks and data centres could work together as part of a single system.
NTT Senior Vice President, Head of Alliance Division, Research and Development Marketing, Minako Tsumenaga, said: “This partnership with Cailabs marks a significant milestone in applying NTT’s IOWN technology to the space sector.
“Building on the technology cultivated through NTT’s research and development and Cailabs’ proven capability in the steady deployment of optical ground stations, we will accelerate the global expansion of optical communication infrastructure in the space sector and open up new growth opportunities.”
Cailabs CEO, Jean-François Morizur, added: “Connecting optical ground stations directly to terrestrial optical networks is a critical step toward making satellite optical communications operational at scale.
“By combining NTT’s expertise in advanced optical networking with Cailabs’ experience in designing, manufacturing and deploying optical ground stations, this collaboration will explore an end-to-end architecture connecting satellites, ground infrastructure and data centres.”
He concluded: “Our shared objective is to help turn high-capacity optical communications into scalable infrastructure for future satellite services.”
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