For Qualcomm, the era of satellite on mobile phones is about to begin

Barcelona. In the panorama of a tired smartphone market, with global sales falling, prices rising and a general and physiological slowdown in the rate of innovation, mobile device manufacturers are always looking for the “next big thing” that can enrich and differentiate the commercial offer. There are many macro-trends, from flexible displays that revolutionize traditional form factors, to increasingly faster charging systems, to attempts to make our pocket computers more and more repairable and long-lived.

However, there is at least one new function that was hardly talked about until last year, and now it seems destined to end up soon on all the flagship devices of the major Android manufacturers: satellite connectivity. At Mobile World Congress, heavyweight Qualcomm, one of the major global manufacturers of chips and connectivity solutions, showed Snapdragon Satellite, a platform that, starting with the upcoming X75 smartphone modem, will bring two-way satellite communication to smartphones.

The system was already announced at CES in January, but on this occasion Qualcomm confirmed the implementation of the new feature on devices from a number of industry-level partners, namely Honor, Motorola, Nothing, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi. Two things to note: on the one hand, the signal of relaxation by a large American company that has no problem publicly associating itself with large Chinese brands; on the other hand, the absence of Samsung from the list, which this year for the first time gave up its Exynos processors in Europe on the Galaxy S23 in favor of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in an optimized version specifically for the Korean brand’s devices.

We no longer need giant antennas

The Barcelona announcement can therefore be interpreted as definitive confirmation: satellite communication to bring the connection even where mobile networks do not arrive will be a service that in a few years’ time we will take for granted on most smartphones. Even on those from Samsung, which will certainly not lag behind the competition. The reason for this leap forward is primarily the maturation of the technologies underlying satellite connectivity services.

«Technology has evolved a lot compared to the past years. Today we are able to offer connectivity with low-orbit satellites of the LEO or Globalsat Iridium system in a traditional and compact form factor phone», explained to Italian Tech Enrico Salvatori, Senior Vice President of Qualcomm and President of Qualcomm Europe, during a interview at Mobile World Congress. «The leap from telephone to satellite can now be done without those enormous antennas that we associate with the classic satellite telephone thanks to the power of amplification that can also be achieved on smartphones».

Friends-enemies

However, Qualcomm’s Android manufacturers partners won’t be the first to implement satellite communication on cellular phones. The primacy belongs to Apple, which already in September brought the Emergency SOS function via satellite to the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro. The service allows you to send your position, plus a series of useful information for rescue and your emergency contacts. Qualcomm does not flaunt it, because relations with Apple – especially on a legal level – are not exactly idyllic, but it seems that the Cupertino company’s solution also uses a Qualcomm X65 modem, coupled with some customized solutions by Apple engineers.

From security to messages

«Emergency service and the sending of position data is the first step. It is perceived as an excellent security service and the end user immediately perceived the benefit», says Salvatori. «Starting from this basic and emergency service, we have developed an even more advanced platform, with a messaging service, not only for emergencies but also for two-way communication, to send and receive short text messages».

The service will arrive first on the X75 modem, the latest addition to the family of telecommunications components announced by Qualcomm right here in Barcelona. The modem will first be integrated into partner manufacturers’ flagship devices alongside the upcoming Snapdragon 8-series chipset, Qualcomm’s flagship smartphone offering. However, for Salvatori the road has already been marked out and satellite communication will gradually also arrive on chipsets and modems destined for the lower end of the market. In short, like all new features, the satellite communication service will also start from the most expensive devices and then arrive on less expensive devices within a few years.

The costs of the service

A point still to be clarified is that of the costs of the service. Emergency SOS via Satellite, Apple’s service, is currently free for the first two years after activating the iPhone. It cannot be ruled out that Qualcomm and Android manufacturers could adopt a similar solution, thanks to specific agreements with satellite network operators. However, it cannot be excluded that the function (and cost absorption) could result in a further push up in the price of the major high-end Android smartphones.

“Our long-standing relationships with Honor, Motorola, Nothing, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi are based on innovation and the ability to enable new connectivity experiences for end consumers,” explained Francesco Grilli, vice president of product management at Qualcomm. “By incorporating Snapdragon Satellite into next-generation devices, our partners will be able to offer satellite messaging capabilities through a mature, commercially available global LEO constellation that can enable subscribers around the world to communicate outdoors with emergency service providers, as well as with family and friends.

Not just Qualcomm

One of Qualcomm’s biggest competitors, MediaTek, has also announced its own satellite connectivity technology to be brought to next-generation smartphones via the MT6825 chipset. The envisaged development path is similar, first moving from offering a system to guarantee safety and localization in case of emergency in remote places, where there is no cellular coverage.

We saw the first device equipped with the MediaTek chip in Barcelona. It’s called Motorola Defy Satellite Link, and it’s a Bluetooth accessory that can be connected to any iOS or Android smartphone to enable connection via Satellite via the Satellite Connect service from Bullit, a manufacturer active in the sector of ultra-resistant “rugged” smartphones. In short, if during your next trip to the Amazon or to the North Pole, in absolute peace, the “ping” of an SMS ringtone should disturb you, the fault will not only be Qualcomm’s.