Demonstrating a New Form of IoT Implementation in Out-of-Service Areas: Achieving Wide-Area Remote Monitoring in Mountainous Regions through Collaboration between Satellite Communication and Terrestrial LPWA
Forest Sea and KDDI have jointly demonstrated a new form of IoT implementation in out-of-service areas. By linking satellite communication "au Starlink Direct for IoT" with Forest Sea's proprietary IoT communication standard "GEO-WAVE," they successfully established an IoT communication network for remote monitoring in mountainous regions, contributing to disaster prevention and infrastructure maintenance.
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- 📰 Published: May 12, 2026 at 23:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 12, 2026 at 14:31
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Forest Sea Co., Ltd. (Representative Director: Yoshiaki Tokida, Headquarters: Koto-ku, Tokyo), in collaboration with KDDI Corporation, conducted a joint demonstration linking the satellite communication service "au Starlink Direct for IoT" with Forest Sea's proprietary IoT communication standard "GEO-WAVE." This demonstration confirmed that it is possible to build a flexible IoT communication network tailored to topographic conditions in mountainous and out-of-service areas where communication was previously difficult.
1. Background
In Japan's mountainous and semi-mountainous regions, there are vast areas without mobile communication coverage. In fields such as disaster prevention, infrastructure maintenance, forestry, and wildlife damage countermeasures, understanding on-site conditions relies heavily on manual efforts, posing a significant challenge.
In recent years, advancements in satellite communication technology have expanded communication possibilities even in areas that were previously difficult to connect. However, in environments such as deep forests and valley terrains where a clear view of the sky cannot be sufficiently secured, further ingenuity is required to establish communication means.
2. Overview of the Demonstration
This demonstration validated a configuration in which observation data from sensors installed in mountainous areas is transmitted to the cloud by linking KDDI's satellite communication service "au Starlink Direct for IoT" with Forest Sea's proprietary long-range, low-power communication standard "GEO-WAVE."
By combining wide-area connectivity through satellite communication with a terrestrial network between sensors using GEO-WAVE, flexible communication configurations become possible even in areas that were difficult to cover with a single communication method.
3. Demonstration Results
The demonstration confirmed that observation data from river and weather sensors, among others, can be stably transmitted to a server even in mobile communication out-of-service areas. This suggests the possibility of building a remote monitoring network for disaster prevention infrastructure even in locations where installation was previously difficult.
Weather sensors
4. Significance of this Initiative
This initiative demonstrates how satellite communication and terrestrial LPWA can complement each other by leveraging their respective characteristics, thereby showcasing a robust IoT communication infrastructure for practical operation.
Satellite communication plays a crucial role in covering wide areas. However, in environments affected by topography and trees, such as mountainous regions, a mechanism is required to expand the communication area geographically by connecting many sensor terminals to terrestrial base stations and terrestrial LPWA.
GEO-WAVE takes on the role of communication between sensors in such environments, and by combining it with satellite communication, it enables the construction of an IoT network that covers the entire out-of-service area.
This demonstration confirmed the effectiveness of a new communication architecture:
"Connecting points with satellites and creating surfaces with terrestrial networks."
5. Future Developments
Forest Sea is working on advancing communication technology centered on "GEO-WAVE" based on its philosophy of "coexistence of people and nature through IoT."
Going forward, through collaboration with partners such as KDDI, Forest Sea aims to contribute to the realization of DX that enhances the overall sustainability of regions, including out-of-service areas, in fields such as disaster prevention, forestry support, wildlife damage countermeasures, monitoring, and surveillance.
■ Reference Information
Details of this initiative are introduced on KDDI's owned media "KDDI Tobira."
KDDI Tobira Detailed Article
Inquiries regarding this matter
Forest Sea Co., Ltd.
Public Relations
Email: fs_info@geowave.jp
Inquiry Form: https://foresttosea.jp/about_us/contact/
1. Background
In Japan's mountainous and semi-mountainous regions, there are vast areas without mobile communication coverage. In fields such as disaster prevention, infrastructure maintenance, forestry, and wildlife damage countermeasures, understanding on-site conditions relies heavily on manual efforts, posing a significant challenge.
In recent years, advancements in satellite communication technology have expanded communication possibilities even in areas that were previously difficult to connect. However, in environments such as deep forests and valley terrains where a clear view of the sky cannot be sufficiently secured, further ingenuity is required to establish communication means.
2. Overview of the Demonstration
This demonstration validated a configuration in which observation data from sensors installed in mountainous areas is transmitted to the cloud by linking KDDI's satellite communication service "au Starlink Direct for IoT" with Forest Sea's proprietary long-range, low-power communication standard "GEO-WAVE."
By combining wide-area connectivity through satellite communication with a terrestrial network between sensors using GEO-WAVE, flexible communication configurations become possible even in areas that were difficult to cover with a single communication method.
3. Demonstration Results
The demonstration confirmed that observation data from river and weather sensors, among others, can be stably transmitted to a server even in mobile communication out-of-service areas. This suggests the possibility of building a remote monitoring network for disaster prevention infrastructure even in locations where installation was previously difficult.
Weather sensors
4. Significance of this Initiative
This initiative demonstrates how satellite communication and terrestrial LPWA can complement each other by leveraging their respective characteristics, thereby showcasing a robust IoT communication infrastructure for practical operation.
Satellite communication plays a crucial role in covering wide areas. However, in environments affected by topography and trees, such as mountainous regions, a mechanism is required to expand the communication area geographically by connecting many sensor terminals to terrestrial base stations and terrestrial LPWA.
GEO-WAVE takes on the role of communication between sensors in such environments, and by combining it with satellite communication, it enables the construction of an IoT network that covers the entire out-of-service area.
This demonstration confirmed the effectiveness of a new communication architecture:
"Connecting points with satellites and creating surfaces with terrestrial networks."
5. Future Developments
Forest Sea is working on advancing communication technology centered on "GEO-WAVE" based on its philosophy of "coexistence of people and nature through IoT."
Going forward, through collaboration with partners such as KDDI, Forest Sea aims to contribute to the realization of DX that enhances the overall sustainability of regions, including out-of-service areas, in fields such as disaster prevention, forestry support, wildlife damage countermeasures, monitoring, and surveillance.
■ Reference Information
Details of this initiative are introduced on KDDI's owned media "KDDI Tobira."
KDDI Tobira Detailed Article
Inquiries regarding this matter
Forest Sea Co., Ltd.
Public Relations
Email: fs_info@geowave.jp
Inquiry Form: https://foresttosea.jp/about_us/contact/