The ability to contact a satellite to send a text or contact emergency services may soon be an effortless reality as startups move from proof of concept to actual product. Canadians on Rogers’ network, which just signed a deal with Lynk, will get direct satellite phone connections across the country; And not to be outdone, AST SpaceMobile claims to have made the first satellite voice call using a normal cell phone as well.
Connecting a standard smartphone like last year’s Samsung or iPhone to a satellite would have sounded like a fantasy a few years ago, when we all knew it was impossible. But now companies are jockeying for position, as it becomes clear that satellite services will be a compelling offering on any mobile plan or phone model for years to come.
Lynk’s approach is to deliver as universal an SMS service as possible to as much of the planet as possible, in the hope that no one who needs help or is off the grid for any other reason has to deal with “no signal”. It has been shown to text from the middle of nowhere (in fact, the founder texted me) and can also cover an unexpected area with no signal, due to a power outage or natural disaster, with crucial information like where to find shelter
The company has been closing deals around the world with various operators, and now it’s on the doorstep of the US (which has a strict regulatory environment and entrenched mobile gamers) with a agreement with Canada’s largest supplier, Rogers.
Although the idea is that everyone can use this, each satellite cell station still needs to operate through an authorized operator. Rogers’ deal doesn’t mean full exclusivity (for example, you’re lost and need help, but have a different carrier), but Lynk is paid by the carrier and will accept payment from customers across Canada as a local partner. I have asked for more details on this and will update if I get a response.
Bringing a more comprehensive connectivity package to the table is AST SpaceMobile, which has launched its first test satellite and for the first time demonstrated a direct phone call to satellite using an unmodified consumer phone. I double checked (this can be tricky) and the connection was a continuous two-way data exchange between the phone and the satellite, which transmitted it to the terrestrial network:
Abel’s phone in Texas was connected directly to the satellite to send and receive two-way communications, without any other intermediary. You made the phone call by typing the number into Samsung’s regular dialer app on the Galaxy S22, just like you would any normal phone call. The other end of the phone call in Japan was received via the normal terrestrial communications network (a cell tower).
Demonstrating the capability is a huge step forward, as the engineering involved in making a regular phone connect to something in low-Earth orbit is already difficult; maintaining that connection to the point where data can constantly flow between them is even more difficult. Scaling is another issue AST SpaceMobile will face, but having tested the capability, that challenge probably seems less daunting now.
The company’s BW3 satellite is the prototype for a constellation that will deliver “2G, 3G, 4G LTE and 5G” coverage from space, which is great because I lose 5G just by going down the block. Help me, AST SpaceMobile.
Of course, Apple has made headlines with its Emergency SOS service, which connects to the Iridium network but requires you to look at your phone at a passing satellite to exchange a set of mostly pre-made messages. useful if you are stuck in a canyon and you need a helicopter to pick you upbut not if you want to check the weather or tell your spouse your backpacking trip is going well.
And then there are T-Mobile and SpaceX, which plans to provide a Starlink data connection to network customers. While no one can dispute Starlink’s ability to provide a signal from orbit, it has yet to demonstrate an orbital connection to an unmodified phone, something it will reportedly do this year.
Soon enough, these services will go from being an experiment to a line item, and we’ll be back to the days when text messages were ten cents each. Still, it’s better than nothing, and that’s definitely what a lot of people have once they get out of town to hike or go fishing. Let’s hope the connection stays on-demand, though: no one needs to get spam messages from orbit while waiting for trout to bite on a remote mountain lake. That’s not a future anyone wants.
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