Mlink Moves Iridium NTN Direct Chipset Into Live Satellite Testing
Mlink Technology has begun live over-the-air testing of its MS150-IR IoT chipset on Iridium's NTN Direct network, marking another step toward commercial deployment of standards-based satellite IoT services.
The MS150-IR is a dedicated version of Mlink's MS150 chipset family designed specifically for Iridium NTN Direct, the satellite operator's 3GPP-compliant non-terrestrial network platform. Having already completed laboratory testing, the chipset has now progressed to live testing over Iridium's operational satellite constellation.
The milestone moves the platform from controlled validation environments into real-world network conditions, helping pave the way for certification and commercial availability, which the companies expect before the end of 2026.
Iridium NTN Direct is designed to extend NB-IoT and direct-to-device connectivity beyond the reach of terrestrial networks using the company's global constellation of 66 cross-linked LEO satellites. The service targets applications such as asset tracking, logistics, agriculture, utilities, industrial monitoring and remote infrastructure management.
Mlink has also introduced a reference design kit alongside the chipset, which is intended to help module makers and device manufacturers accelerate development and shorten time to market.