Satellite players rocket across MWC

MWC23 – Attendees of the MWC Barcelona trade show here generally couldn’t access satellite services from inside the massive, crowded Fira Gran Via venue. They’d have to go outside, to get a view of the sky, to do so.

But that certainly didn’t stop a wide range of companies from talking about how satellites will impact the cellular industry.

According to Skylo’s Tarun Gupta, there’s a clear reason why satellites are such a hot topic right now: It’s the new phone-to-satellite messaging services that are hitting the market from the likes of Apple, Huawei and Bullitt. Such services – dubbed “direct to device” (D2D) services by those in the satellite industry – promise to allow regular smartphones to connect to satellites hundreds of miles up in the sky.

That represents a major new development considering satellite connections were previously reserved exclusively for dedicated satellite phones, often bulky and expensive ones.

D2D “will drive everything that’s happening,” said Gupta, a founder of satellite technology and services startup Skylo.

Interestingly, though, Gupta predicted the bulk of satellite-based revenues and network traffic will likely come from Internet of Things (IoT) services, rather than from messages between smartphones and satellites. But he said all the consumer interest and hype in phone-to-satellite messaging will help drive the development of the bigger IoT opportunity.

MWC progress

There was no shortage of news on the satellite front during MWC this week. For example, Germany’s Deutsche Telekom said it would work with Intelsat and Skylo to develop satellite-capable IoT services. Similarly, Eastern European operator VEON announced a partnership with satellite operator OneWeb to expand its mobile network into rural areas.

But phone-to-satellite messaging dominated the news cycle, both at MWC and beyond.

Specifically, British ruggedized handset maker Bullitt offered more details about its own satellite-enabled smartphone plans. It also showed off a Bluetooth accessory that brings phone-to-satellite messaging services to any iPhone or Android, for around $250 for a year of services. According to SpaceNews, Bullitt’s service runs on technology developed by startup Skylo with chips from MediaTek and satellites operated by the likes of Inmarsat

Separately, smartphone vendors Honor, Motorola, Nothing, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi said they would add satellite capabilities to their phones via Qualcomm’s deal with satellite operator Iridium. Similarly, MediaTek – a major competitor to Qualcomm – showed off its own phone-to-satellite prowess.

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