Directly connecting a smartphone to a satellite without the mediation of terrestrial infrastructure may soon become commonplace. At least SpaceX was recently granted permission to directly connect its partner T-Mobile’s devices to its own vehicles in orbit.
Mobile communications and satellites
On November 26, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission granted SpaceX permission to directly connect mobile devices to their satellites. It concerns T-Mobile customers across the United States.
At first glance, the news is not so sensational, since the connection to the mobile Internet already means that data between different continents will be transmitted via satellite links. However, in reality, there is always some intermediate ground infrastructure there.
Usually it’s terrestrial cellular networks that act as intermediaries, so if they’re not there, a satellite overhead won’t help at all. You can connect through the Starlink terminal. But there is still external hardware involved.
The technology, where a mobile device communicates directly with a satellite, has been tested for several years. There’s a real race between the companies. But it looks like SpaceX will be the winner.
Why does SpaceX win?
At first glance, the victory of SpaceX is quite logical. After all, the company has second-generation Starlink satellites. Now there are 2,600 of them in orbit, and 320 of them are fitted with equipment for exchanging signals with smartphones. In the future, their number may be increased to 7,500.
SpaceX also has another 4,100 first-generation Starlink satellites. Overall, the licensing terms allow the company to bring the number of vehicles in orbit to 22,488. So it’s no surprise that T-Mobile subscribers will have the opportunity to join them.
The fact that this system has already been in limited use this year played a significant role in obtaining this authorization. When Hurricanes Milton and Helen devastated Florida and South Carolina, more than 120 hazard warnings were sent through T-Mobile.
Is it the final victory?
However, all this doesn’t mean that SpaceX will remain a monopoly in this field. EchoStar, Omnispace, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have already voiced their opposition to the requests from Elon Musk’s company. The Federal Communications Commission has already said it will do everything it can to preserve competition in this area.
Right now they have a request lying around from AST SpaceMobile, which is partnering with AT&T and Verizon. Other coalitions of space companies and terrestrial network operators are also poised to continue fighting for market share. And it’s not like anyone will turn them down.
Provided by spacenews.com
