Sateliot Seeks €150 Million For Satellite-To-Phone 5G By 2028

Sateliot is seeking up to EUR150 million ($172 million) to move its satellite network from industrial IoT links toward direct 5G service for ordinary smartphones.

The target is 50 percent larger than the EUR100 million financing Sateliot announced in April, and the company is still looking for a lead investor.

That contrast turns the funding round into a delivery test: Sateliot has to raise more capital than its last announced financing while proving that a network built around industrial devices can support consumer-phone coverage.

The financing plan covers 16 more low-Earth orbit satellites over the next year before larger spacecraft are due in early 2028.

Those later satellites are intended to beam 5G data, voice and video directly to standard smartphones rather than only to dedicated IoT devices.

Smartphone Service Changes The Operating Bar

Sateliot already serves internet-of-things uses such as shipping trackers and utility sensors.

The smartphone plan changes the operating requirement.

Consumer handsets need broader coverage, spectrum coordination and carrier integration, so the service has to look like an extension of mobile networks rather than a separate industrial satellite link.

Chief executive Jaume Sanpera framed the opportunity for Bloomberg as integrating 5G within a satellite.

Telefonica is named as a technology partner for direct-to-device connections, while other network operators are positioned around remote-area coverage.

That operator link is central to the business case.

Direct-to-device satellite services have to fit into carrier roaming, billing, emergency coverage and spectrum plans before they can become a mainstream handset feature.

For Sateliot, the financing round is therefore tied not only to satellite manufacturing, but also to whether carriers see the network as a practical coverage layer.

European Spectrum Policy Shapes The Opening

European policy is shaping the market.

The European Space Agency is deploying EUR22 billion over three years, while a European Commission proposal would reserve domestic-player spectrum for direct-to-device satellite communication.

That spectrum proposal could affect who gets the best regulatory position.

Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile are pursuing a similar direct-to-phone service through Satellite Connect Europe, but the joint venture's eligibility for reserved European spectrum is unclear because AST SpaceMobile holds a 50 percent stake.

For IRIS², the European project led by Eutelsat, SES and Hispasat starts with broadband service rather than direct-to-device coverage, in TNW's account.

Sateliot is trying to sit between sovereign European connectivity goals and carriers that want remote-area coverage without replacing existing mobile service.

Financing Has To Become Coverage

Sateliot expects up to half of the financing to come from public co-financing and has described another EUR50 million as debt that could be raised.

The mix shows how much the plan depends on public capital, debt capacity and private investor confidence arriving at the same time.

The practical proof now is whether the company can close the financing, launch the planned satellites and convert spectrum policy into carrier-grade direct-to-device coverage.

Sateliot has not disclosed a lead investor, signed carrier launch timetable or measured handset-service performance for the larger 2028 satellites.