GSMA Intelligence says mobile operators are pushing for greater control over non-terrestrial networks, and its NTN tracker counted 132 operators worldwide by June 2026. Of those, 89 were still in the planning or testing phase and 43 were live.
The picture is still uneven: the market is growing, but most deployments have not moved beyond testing. That split matters because it shows how much of NTN is still being negotiated inside operator strategies rather than rolled out at scale.
Vodafone Ireland puts NTN to work for emergency response
Vodafone Ireland said it successfully tested non-terrestrial-network connectivity for emergency responders using AST SpaceMobile’s network. The test was conducted with Ireland’s Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and Satellite Connect Europe.
Satellite Connect Europe is Vodafone’s joint venture with AST SpaceMobile, which places the trial inside an existing commercial relationship rather than a one-off lab exercise. The setup also shows that Vodafone is already using NTN through a structure that combines operator, government and satellite-network roles.
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile US seek more direct control
In May, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile US announced an agreement in principle for a joint venture covering joint investment, pooled spectrum resources and cooperative development of direct-to-device NTN technologies. The partners said the venture would be additional to existing carrier-satellite agreements and that they could still pursue independent satellite-connectivity initiatives.
The partners also said the joint venture would nearly eliminate dead zones in the U.S. that currently lack mobile service. That is a commercial and technical signal: operators are not just buying NTN capacity, they are trying to shape the layer itself.
What this means for satellite-connectivity strategists
For operator strategy teams and satellite partners, the tracker number is the clearest read here: 132 operators are now in the market, but only 43 are live. The rest are still in planning or testing, which leaves room for more bilateral deals, trials and joint ventures before NTN settles into a mature deployment pattern.