Use case: mobility and logistics
Tracking fleets beyond mobile coverage
Where there is no mobile network, a tracking device still determines its position by GNSS and sends it over a satellite link instead. ESA names satellite connectivity as a way to keep logistics and mobility services working where mobile coverage is inadequate or absent. At open sea, ESA calls it an irreplaceable link to the rest of the world.
- Reference
- UC-21
- Technologies
- Challenge
- Connectivity, positioning and timing
- Updated
- Published by
- LETO SPACE
01When you need it
Why fleets drop out of view
Trucks on long-haul routes, trailers in remote yards, rail wagons and vessels regularly leave mobile coverage. A tracker that sends only over the mobile network stores its positions or goes silent until it reconnects, and the control room loses sight of the asset exactly where help is hardest to reach.
ESA describes this gap for land transport: logistics and mobility services need connectivity where mobile coverage is inadequate, unreliable, compromised or absent, for example in autonomous long-haul transport. Satellite connectivity can also signal critical situations of vehicles in remote or low-coverage areas, such as breakdowns, accidents or theft Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobilityaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int). At open sea, satellite communication is an irreplaceable link between offshore activities and the rest of the world Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for maritimeaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int).
- L1 Base mapTerrain, river and parcels
- L2 Roads and routeMain roads, with the tracked route in blue
- L3 HubsRiver port and depot with container yards
- L4 No mobile coverageNo mobile signal here, so positions are sent by satellite
02Technology
How satellite tracking works
Two space technologies share the work:
- Position from GNSS. The device computes its position from satellite navigation signals. GNSS enables tracking and tracing of vehicles and goods, route optimisation, flow monitoring and the monitoring of assets in transit Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobilityaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int). In road transport, EUSPA describes asset management units that send GNSS positions by telematics so that operators can monitor vehicle fleets and the status of dangerous goods Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu).
- Transmission by satellite. Where no terrestrial network is available, the device sends its position and status over a satellite link instead of the mobile network.
Mobile standards now bring the two together. Since Release 17, the 3GPP specifications include NB-IoT and LTE-M (eMTC) over non-terrestrial networks, so an IoT device can communicate directly with a satellite. These devices are assumed to have a GNSS receiver Source: 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), accessed 6 October 20263rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)accessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens 3gpp.org). Our pages on what GNSS is and on satellite communication explain both technologies.
At sea, satellite Earth observation adds a further check: it is used to verify the AIS messages that ships broadcast and to detect vessels that do not send them Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for maritimeaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int).
03Deliverables
What you get
- Positions of vehicles, trailers, containers or vessels along the whole route, including the stretches without mobile coverage.
- Alerts from vehicles in remote areas, for example after a breakdown, an accident or a theft Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobilityaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int).
- Data for route optimisation, flow monitoring and the monitoring of goods in transit Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobilityaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int).
- One data stream in your fleet or transport management system, whichever network carried the message.
04Limits
Limits
Limit 01
GNSS needs a view of the sky
GNSS signals reach the ground below the level of ambient noise. Indoors and underground the receiver gets no usable signal, and in urban canyons reflected signals degrade the position Source: UK GO-Science, UK Government Office for Science, 30 January 2018UK Government Office for ScienceSatellite-derived time and position: a study of critical dependencies (Blackett review)30 January 2018Open source (opens gov.uk). Inside a warehouse or a tunnel, a tracker that relies on GNSS alone cannot update its position.
Limit 02
Signals can be jammed or spoofed
Jamming can cut a receiver off, and spoofing can make it report a false position. Inexpensive jamming equipment is readily available Source: UK GO-Science, UK Government Office for Science, 30 January 2018UK Government Office for ScienceSatellite-derived time and position: a study of critical dependencies (Blackett review)30 January 2018Open source (opens gov.uk). How to detect and handle this is covered in protecting GNSS-dependent operations.
Limit 03
Direct-to-satellite standards are young
IoT over satellite entered the 3GPP standards with Release 17 Source: 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), accessed 6 October 20263rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)accessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens 3gpp.org). Check which devices, networks and regions a provider supports before you plan a roll-out.
05Next steps
How we help
We map where your routes leave coverage and which decisions suffer from the gap. In requirements and procurement we specify devices, connectivity and the integration into your systems and compare providers against these requirements. A pilot on part of the fleet then shows whether the gap closes in daily operation.
To find providers of tracking devices and satellite connectivity, Spacegraph, our discovery platform, has an industry category "Transport & Logistics".
06Use cases
Related use cases
- Connecting remote sensors via satellite IoTThe same links for fixed sensors in remote places.
- Protecting against jamming and spoofingWhat to do when the position itself cannot be trusted.
- Monitoring global traffic hubsThe state of the ports and hubs a fleet depends on.
- Satellite data in mobility and logisticsAll use cases for transport and logistics.
Frequently asked questions
Q1Do we need satellite trackers for the whole fleet?
Usually not. ESA describes satellite connectivity as needed where mobile connectivity for logistics and mobility services is inadequate, unreliable or absent Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobilityaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int). Start with the vehicles, containers or vessels whose routes leave coverage, and keep mobile tracking where it works.
Q2How accurate is the position?
That depends on the receiver and on the service it uses. Augmentation such as the Galileo High Accuracy Service or RTK gives higher accuracy than a standard receiver, where a use case needs it Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobilityaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int).
Q3How do we start?
Start with a map of where your fleet leaves mobile coverage and what a gap costs you there, for example a delayed arrival message or a missing alarm. From that we derive the requirements for devices, connectivity and integration into your systems. Our consulting overview shows the path from the problem to operation.
Sources (5)
- ESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobility (opens business.esa.int)
- ESA Space Solutions: Space for maritime (opens business.esa.int)
- EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1 (opens euspa.europa.eu)
- Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) (opens 3gpp.org)
- Satellite-derived time and position: a study of critical dependencies (Blackett review) (opens gov.uk)
Contact
Where does your fleet leave mobile coverage, and what do you lose there? Let us look at the options.
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