Ahead of the IoT Tech Expo Global, taking place in London on February 4-5, Susan Agemy (left), VP of customer and network solutions at global converged satellite and wireless connectivity provider MTN, discusses how telcos are responding to the low earth orbit (LEO) opportunity and what needs to happen to bring LEO satellites to their full potential.
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IoT News: Hi, Susan. Can you first of all introduce yourself, what you do at MTN and what MTN does and the key industries and use cases you cater towards?
Susan Agemy: I’m the VP of Customer & Network Solutions at MTN. I have over 20 years of experience focusing on satellite communications across Geostationary (GEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations. At MTN, I lead the strategic vision and optimization for the company’s advanced satellite and network infrastructure to meet critical customer demands across many industries, from maritime to enterprise and aviation.
IoT News: Let’s outline the current state of play for the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite market. How is the market developing in your opinion; where does it sit strategically in terms of wider connectivity; and what is the potential?
SA: The low earth orbit (LEO) satellite market is currently in a phase of rapid expansion and strategic significance, with Goldman Sachs forecasting a base-case growth to $108 billion by 2035—and potentially reaching $457 billion in an optimistic scenario. Major players are aggressively scaling; Starlink is now available in approximately 150 markets and has approval for another 7,500 satellites, while Amazon LEO is launching services this year featuring innovative phased array antennas and AWS private networks. OneWeb Eutelsat also continues to enhance its constellation. MTN sits at the center of this evolution by working with all major providers to deliver tailored network services across nearly 20 industries, including maritime, aviation, and oil and gas.
The strategic potential of this market lies in its ability to transform global business by integrating satellite-based connectivity into existing telecom infrastructure. This synergy makes new developments viable in even the most remote locations. While some view LEO satellites as a threat to traditional players, they represent a massive opportunity for telcos to expand their reach. The focus has shifted toward utilizing LEO as a high-speed “middle-mile” solution, connecting remote fiber hubs to the global web and providing fiber-like speeds without the prohibitive cost of physical cabling.
IoT News: How do you assess the way telcos are responding to this? We’re seeing integration in different parts of the world, but what is their battleplan, if you like, and how is that going?
SA: Our work with FiberCop, the most important telecom company in Italy, is the perfect example to answer this. We’ve moved past the “satellite vs. terrestrial” debate and started integrating them. By linking our LEO backhaul with FiberCop’s fiber network, we’re delivering high-performance connectivity in areas that used to be total dead zones because of the cost of deploying traditional infrastructure. It’s a huge win for remote Italian communities that need that fiber-level reliability but happen to be off the beaten path. Satellite connectivity providers allow telco companies to focus on “last-mile” networks. This isn’t just an experiment; it’s part of a global trend where we’re seeing over 170 partnerships between satellite and terrestrial players
IoT News: An EY report from September explores the emergence of LEO satellites as a threat and an opportunity for existing telecom and digital infrastructure players. How do you see this? (Link)
SA: It’s a massive opportunity for all of us. At MTN, we see the integration of LEO satellite-based connectivity into existing telecom infrastructure as a total game-changer that expands global business possibilities, making new developments viable in even the most remote locations. We don’t view ourselves as a competitor to traditional telcos; instead, we are the link that creates a synergy between space and terrestrial networks.
IoT News: MTN announced the release of StarEdge Horizon in October, a layer-2 private network over Starlink. How has that launch gone – and can you outline the key features of the product?
SA: In essence, StarEdge Horizon moves data over a private path on Starlink from remote sites to MTN’s regional points of presence, keeping customers’ data off the public internet. This solution improves security and predictability, and can integrate secondary connections such as OneWeb, LTE/5G and VSAT for seamless failover.
Key features:
- Redefining Security and Simplified Wide Area Network (WAN) Integration: As companies have made security a top priority, StarEdge Horizon is engineered to improve cybersecurity while unifying remote corporate networks.
- Mission-Critical Performance and Continuity: The system also enables advanced Network Segmentation and Quality of Service (QoS) prioritization. In moments of network saturation, this capability guarantees that mission-critical data, such as control systems or security feeds, is prioritized over general internet traffic, maintaining operational continuity.
- Direct Cloud Peering and Static IP: In addition, StarEdge Horizon provides private connectivity options to major clouds (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) where available, reducing exposure to the open internet for cloud-bound traffic. It also delivers true static IP addressing and subnet allocation, giving each remote site or device a secure and consistent network identity.
IoT News: As VP of Customer and Network Solutions, what trends have you been seeing in the market? Can you outline a typical customer journey?
SA: The trends I have been seeing include:
- The rise of the hyperscalers: With Amazon LEO officially entering the fray, we’re seeing a shift toward “enterprise-first” satellite services. This competition is pushing everyone to innovate faster, especially in areas like cloud-native integration and automated network management.
- SLAs are non-negotiable: As government and high-end corporate clients move mission-critical workloads to the cloud, “best-effort” connectivity doesn’t cut it anymore. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) have become the top priority, with a focus on predictable performance and 24/7 reliability.
- Satellite connectivity is becoming mainstream: We’ve officially moved past the experimental phase. The 170 partnerships globally—including 44 that is Starlink leading—show that the industry has embraced, for example, Direct-to-Device satcom as a standard. This is a game-changer for field teams and IoT devices that need to stay connected even when they roam out of traditional cell range.
IoT News: What factors still need to be overcome to bring LEO satellites to their full potential?
SA: Three thoughts:
- Deeper integration between fiber and satellite networks: Instead of viewing fiber and LEO as competitors, providers must merge them into a single “hybrid” infrastructure. As I mentioned before, the focus has shifted to using LEO satellites as a high-speed “middle-mile” solution that connects remote fiber hubs to the global web, ensuring that even the most isolated communities have fiber-like speeds without the massive cost of digging thousands of miles of cable.
- Modernised regulation and investment incentives: Governments must replace outdated 20th-century space laws with policies that incentivize massive capital investment and faster deployment. This includes streamlining the “red tape” for satellite launches and updating spectrum sharing rules to prevent signal interference. Including LEO services in national broadband funding programs will provide the financial certainty companies need to scale their constellations and lower costs for everyday users.
- Focus on capacity innovation and orbital sustainability: To meet the soaring demand for data-heavy tasks like AI processing and 4G/5G “Direct-to-Device” calling, operators must innovate in how they manage crowded space. This requires implementing AI-driven traffic systems to prevent satellite collisions and adopting advanced signal technology to pack more bandwidth into limited airwaves. Solving these technical challenges is essential to maintaining high speeds as millions of new users join these networks simultaneously.
IoT News: What does 2026 hold for the space and what can we expect from MTN?
SA: These are the things you can expect from MTN:
- Innovation across all major constellations: We’ve moved beyond being just a reseller; we are now the converged link between every major orbital player
– Multi-orbit Synergy: We are scaling our ability to mix and match constellations like Starlink, OneWeb, and others to give our customers the ultimate failover protection.
– Hybrid “middle-mile” focus: Our 2026 battleplan is to use these satellites as a high-speed “middle-mile” to connect remote fiber hubs, ensuring isolated communities get fiber-like speeds without the cost of digging physical cable. - Ultra-high speed connectivity, everywhere: We are pushing the boundaries of what “remote” looks like by delivering ultra-high-speed connectivity that rivals metro-area fiber.
– Next-gen hardware: We’ve a robust portfolio with high-performance antennas designed for gigabit-speed connectivity and mission-critical mobility. - Corporate-grade security and data protection: For us, “connected” isn’t enough—it has to be secure. This is our biggest priority for 2026.
– StarEdge Horizon™: This is our flagship 2026 solution. It creates a private Layer 2 path over LEO satellites, moving data directly to our regional points of presence and keeping sensitive corporate info entirely off the public internet.
– Mission-critical prioritisation: Our systems now use traffic management to ensure that if a network gets saturated, your essential data—like security feeds or control systems—stays in the VIP lane.
– Direct cloud peering: We’re reducing the attack surface by providing direct, private on-ramps to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, bypassing the open internet for cloud-bound traffic.
Photo by NASA on Unsplash
