Viasat, a specialist in satellite communications, has published a report which shows rising urgency among decision-makers to adopt Direct-to-Device (D2D) IoT devices within their organisations.

The report – The Great Connectivity Convergence: NTN in Industrial IoT – was conducted by Vanson Bourne and surveyed 600 IoT decision-makers from five major industries: agriculture, energy, transport and logistics, mining and utilities. The survey asked professionals about new D2D IoT devices, which enable organisations to track, monitor and control operations by sharing data over satellite and cellular without the need for existing, dedicated satellite terminals.

D2D coming to IoT

The majority (90 per cent) of those surveyed agree that D2D will accelerate the roll-out of IoT globally. Current terrestrial IoT users are particularly keen to tap into the technology, with almost a third (32 per cent) planning to adopt D2D within the next 6 months. However, while intent is high, most respondents (81 per cent) say adoption in IoT would only be feasible after the next 1-2 years.

Across all IoT decision-makers surveyed, over a quarter intend to adopt D2D within 6 months, over two-thirds within 12 months, and the vast majority (91 per cent) within 18 months. On top of this, 89 per cent of organisations say they would consider replacing their current IoT connectivity with D2D within the next 2–3 years.

Industrial potential and high confidence

Respondents report high confidence that new applications can have significant benefits, with respondents reporting D2D could provide an advantage due to its smaller form factor (61 per cent), ability to support large scale deployments (59 per cent), and in deployments in areas without cellular coverage (55 per cent).

The most beneficial use cases provided through D2D include crop storage monitoring in agriculture (33 per cent), automated haulage vehicles in mining (36 per cent), vehicular tracking and route optimisation in transport (43 per cent), water infrastructure monitoring in utilities (43 per cent), and wellhead monitoring in energy (33 per cent).

Existing IoT roll-out continues at pace

Within their existing IoT roll-out, 78 per cent of respondents say their organisations’ progress has increased over the past 12 months. Organisations are also increasingly integrating satellite into their deployments. In this year’s survey, more than half of organisations (55 per cent) reported using satellite in their IoT estates, a rise from the 41 per cent reported in 2024’s survey.

Andy Kessler, Vice President, Enterprise at Viasat, commented: “Organisations are rightly excited by the potential for standards-based D2D and are planning to deploy new technology quickly, and at scale. The excitement makes sense because we know new devices can lower the barrier to entry for organisations by reducing the cost, complexity, and physical size of IoT terminals. But while companies rightly want to move fast, the change represents a major shift. It’s our job to work with our partner ecosystem and customers to help them access the safety, efficiency, and sustainability benefits satellite-enabled IoT can bring.”

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Equipment, Equipment, IoT, Research

Tags: d2d, IOT, viaplay