- Zoe Kleinmann
- Technology editor
A new partnership between satellite phone company Iridium and chip giant Qualcomm will provide satellite connectivity to Android smartphones later this year.
This means that cell phones can connect to passing satellites to send and receive messages, in places where there is no cell phone coverage.
Qualcomm chips are found in many Android smartphones.
Apple announced the availability of the satellite feature for iPhone 14 in September 2022.
However, the service is currently only available for sending and receiving basic text messages in emergency situations.
British smartphone maker Bullitt was the first to launch its own satellite service, beating out Apple. It’s also for emergency use and will be available in select regions when it first launches.
The new partnership will provide the same service to millions of other smartphone users, without tying them to a specific brand, but it will be up to the manufacturer to enable it.
Iridium represents the original satellite telephony system, sending the first satellite into orbit in 1997. It completed the modernization of its network of 75 spacecraft in 2019.
The satellites cover the entire globe and fly in low orbit, about 485 miles (780 km) above the Earth, and groups of them can communicate with each other and exchange data.
Qualcomm said initially the new feature, dubbed Snapdragon Satellite, will only be built into its premium chipset, so it’s unlikely to appear in budget devices.
But it will eventually roll out to tablets, laptops, and even vehicles, and it will also become a service that won’t be limited to emergency communications, though there will likely be a fee for that.
Satellite communication is widely seen as the next target for mobile phones, as it addresses the problem of areas where there is no existing coverage. These tend to be more common in rural or remote locations.
It has already been successfully deployed to provide broadband coverage through services such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Satellite broadband services are generally fast and reliable, but are more expensive than cable or fiber connections.
Use of the feature will be subject to local government regulations as countries such as India and China prohibit the use of satellite phones.
