Written by Andrew Wooden for Telecoms.com
Satellite firm Sateliot will provide its nanosatellite constellation to the ETHER project, which seeks to use AI to combine terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.
ETHER (which stands for Self-evolving terrestrial/non-terrestrial hybrid networks) is a $3.5 million project backed by the European Commission that is supposed to achieve this conjoining of infrastructure and create a ‘network of networks’ via some AI cleverness.
Its main aim appears to be connecting people in Europe who otherwise don’t have internet in some way shape or form – a number which it puts at a surprisingly high 25 million.
In this pursuit, Sateliot will now provide ETHER with its nanosatellite constellation, which it says will lay the groundwork for standardization and interoperability between its network in space and the network in the ground, via the implementation of a Unified Radio Access Network.
“The ETHER Project will provide the necessary framework for this new 6G terrestrial/non-terrestrial network ecosystem, which also involves an AI and machine learning efficient zero-touch base,” we’re told in the release.
The whole point seems to be about demonstrating how using a combination of land, air and space based infrastructure can fill in connectivity gaps. Industries such as agriculture, logistics and maritime transportation are identified as particular beneficiaries of this extra coverage the project promises.
