Indra is present at the 5G Forum 2026, one of the benchmark events for the telecommunications sector in Spain, which is taking place these days at the Cartuja Auditorium in Seville (Andalusia). In this context, the company has unveiled its proposal for hybrid connectivity between terrestrial and satellite infrastructures, as well as the transition towards networks with higher levels of autonomy.
As the technology corporation detailed in a statement released this Thursday, the combination of terrestrial networks and satellite systems, along with the application of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation, is shaping a new generation of networks.
"This convergence between the satellite world and 5G networks is giving rise to more flexible connectivity models," the company stated, emphasizing that the incorporation of satellite into the 5G standard implies a "structural change" in telecommunications architecture, moving from a network limited to terrestrial infrastructure to a system distributed between land and space.
Satellites Reinforce Mobile Networks and OSS Systems
In this approach, satellite communications act as a complement to mobile networks (today 5G and, in the future, 6G) to build a "shared, broader, and more resilient" infrastructure. One of the key challenges lies in the transformation of operations support systems (OSS).
These systems group together solutions that allow operators to monitor and manage large communication networks, ensuring service continuity and coordinating the operation of hybrid networks. "This opens the door to new connectivity scenarios, from remote areas to emergency situations or critical environments where network availability becomes a strategic factor," the Spanish firm remarked.
In this context, the telecommunications manager at Minsait (Indra), María Lamelas Labrada, stressed that the "real challenge is not just to integrate satellite into 5G, but to operate that hybrid network as a single system, with the same reliability, automation, and quality of service that the user expects from a terrestrial network." Furthermore, Indra is focusing on the evolution towards a 5G network capable of operating with increasing autonomy, incorporating observability functions and intelligent remediation mechanisms.
Autonomous 5G Networks and 'Zero Touch' Operations
Through a guided natural language interface, the company teaches how a 5G network can be deployed and parameterized quickly, using both standard configurations and specific adjustments depending on the needs of each environment. After deployment, the system allows checking its behavior with the addition of users and, later, recreating incidents in the network in a controlled manner.
These anomalies are automatically identified from operational metrics, generating alerts that initiate flows capable of diagnosing the failure, determining its origin, and returning the network to its appropriate configuration without human intervention. In this way, the Spanish multinational shows the path towards 'zero touch' operations, in which the 5G network is capable of deploying, configuring, and correcting errors by itself, shortening response times, reducing operational failures, and minimizing dependence on manual processes.
5G NTN and strategic sovereignty in space
Likewise, through Indra Space, the 5G Forum's agenda has included the intervention of the 5G strategy manager at Hispasat, José Luis Alcolea, with the presentation "5G NTN and strategic sovereignty".
During his presentation, Alcolea addressed the relevance of strategic sovereignty in the satellite field and the role of the 5G NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks) standard in driving next-generation networks, in a scenario where an increasing number of regions are committed to developing their own space capabilities as a pillar of their technological autonomy.