It turns out that the next frontier of connectivity after 5G is not 6G but satellite messaging. Apple has already launched an SOS and location sharing system, T-Mobile and SpaceX are working on a more general communication system. Now the British company Bullitt says it will beat them to the punch by launching the “first mobile-satellite messaging smartphone”.
Unlike Apple’s satellite SOS, the system described by Bullitt will allow continuous messaging between one user connected to a satellite and another connected to a regular cellular network. Apple’s system only allows you to communicate with emergency services in two ways, location sharing is one-way.
In case you haven’t heard the name, Bullitt builds rugged phones for a few well-known brands, mostly Cat phones but also devices like the Motorola Defy. These extra rugged phones are often marketed to professionals who may need to do field work, away from cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots. Knowing that they can always send and receive messages wherever they are will be a huge boon to Bullitt’s customer base.
This project has been in the works for 18 months in collaboration with MediaTek. Earlier this year MediaTek demonstrated its NTN – Non-Terrestrial Network – modem by testing it under laboratory conditions. The test simulated a connection to a satellite in low earth orbit (LEO), ie at 600 km/370 mi altitude, orbiting at 27,000 km/h (17,000 mph).
Bullitt-built phones will be able to get a connection and send a message via satellite in about 10 seconds. It will automatically switch to satellite connectivity when cellular and Wi-Fi reception is lost. For now, details on how messaging will work are vague, but the company stresses that it will be perfect:
“We’ve known for a long time that the answer lay in the satellite, but seamless, ‘invisible’ integration into a smartphone creates huge technical challenges. MediaTek and Bullitt share a pioneering spirit and a history of innovation, so now, nearly two years into our relationship, we are together at the forefront of a new era in telecommunications and the fastest and easiest way for our partners to channel to offer peace of mind to their customers,” writes Richard Wharton, co-founder of Bullitt Group.
According to Bullitt, the first phones with two-way satellite service (and satellite service itself) will be available in the first three months of 2023. They will come with a free year of emergency messaging. It is not known how much it will cost later or on the prices of general communication.
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