The seven satellites that will be added to OQ Technology's constellation, are the previously announced "MACSAT" and "PHI-Demo" satellites and five additional 6U nanosatellites, Tiger-4 to Tiger-8, which the company has already ordered. Concluding the launch of the first batch, all remaining satellite launches are planned for this year with the final ones, pending launch conditions, to possibly go into orbit in early 2024.

With the added satellites, OQ Technology will significantly enhance its 5G NB-IoT non-terrestrial networks (NTN) satellite connectivity service based on 3GPP for non-terrestrial networks (Release 17). The enlarged constellation will increase its global coverage and the satellites' revisiting times to multiple times per day. As a result, the company's terminals can send more data, received from mobile sensors, giving customers more of the latest sensor information in real-time. The increased capacity and revisiting times will in particular serve customers in both the energy and asset tracking market.

Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology, said: "Having pioneered satellite based 5G NB-IoT connectivity and launched our constellation before anybody else did, we are now cementing our position as the leading 5G NB-IoT satellite operator in the world.

"Being well ahead in the 5G IoT non-terrestrial networks market, we are continuing the expansion of our global coverage, entering new markets and accelerating the build-up of our constellation. The planned launches for this year will conclude our Batch 1 deployment, with Batch 2 already in preparation."

Three of the satellites, Tiger-4, Tiger-7 and Tiger-8, will be built by Lithuanian mission integrator and bus manufacturer Kongsberg NanoAvionics who also built Tiger-2, Tiger-3, and MACSAT. Tiger-5 and Tiger-6 will be built by satellite manufacturer Space Inventor from Denmark. The 5G NB-IoT payloads will be provided by OQ Technology and integrated into these platforms. OQ Technology will also be responsible for operating the satellite constellation as well as managing the ground network, service, spectrum access and licensing.

"It is thanks to a faster construction of our payload, and our 5G NTN technology being developed in-house that OQ Technology is able to massively and quickly expand its constellation," Qaise said.

OQ Technology's 5G NB-IoT connectivity service enables companies to connect their mobile devices for applications such as smart metering, precision agriculture, asset tracking, vehicle telematics, artificial intelligence critical alarms and environmental monitoring. With 85 percent of the world's surface lacking or having limited access to terrestrial connectivity services, the constellation provides global connectivity in remote regions.

Government of Luxembourg grants Space Activity License to OQ Technology
OQ Technology is happy to announce after rigorous technical, legal, security, and administrative due diligence on the company, its operations and future plans, OQ became one of the first space companies in Luxembourg to be granted this authorisation under Luxembourg's new law on Space Activities.

In addition to its existing license for the satellites already in orbit, this license authorisation will allow OQ Technology to also provide its internet of things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity services with all additional satellites, yet to be launched. As part of this license, the company will also be able to register its satellites in Luxembourg's national registry of space objects.

Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology, said: "The authorisation comes at a time when the demand for regulating space objects and debris mitigation, due to the increasing number of satellites being launched into space, is growing across the world."

In 2020 Luxembourg established a new legal framework for the authorisation and supervision of space activities allowing the management of risks related to space activities and state liability. It contributes to providing a safe and attractive environment for operators, investors and entrepreneurs. Its aim is to become a valuable tool for the economic development of the dynamic and competitive space sector in Luxembourg.

The framework allows the Ministry of the Economy and the LSA, the authorisation and supervision of space activities along with the registration of space objects launched into outer space. The National Registry of Space Objects, established by the Law on Space Activities, includes all objects for which Luxembourg assumes registration obligation under the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.

Our CEO and Founder Omar Qaise said: "We are very grateful to the team at Luxembourg Space Agency and the Ministry of Economy for including us in the new framework and authorising our space activity, we are very confident we will contribute heavily and make a good example of a space company pursuing the sustainable space objectives within its global satellite constellation,"

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