On 8th September, cellular satellite company AST SpaceMobile – using AT&T networks – claimed to have made the first-ever 5G connection between a satellite and an unmodified Galaxy S22 smartphone. The call was made between two engineers, one in a wireless ‘dead zone’ in Hana, Hawaii and the other in Madrid, Spain, both using a Galaxy S22. It lasted two minutes and was routed via AST SpaceMobile’s Bluewalker 3 (BW3) low Earth orbit (LEO) test satellite using AT&T’s 5G spectrum. Vodafone, Nokia, and AT&T all validated the call.
Advanced space-to-device communications
In a separate test, AST also broke the download speed record at 14 Mbps – previously 10 Mbps – which, while not particularly fast, is still enough for video streaming, downloading files and documents and Internet browsing. Previously, in April 2023, AST held the first-ever phone call using AT&T’s 2G spectrum.
However, another satellite-to-phone company – Lynk – claims to have “video proof” of a series of two-way calls on unmodified phones between two of its engineers via its own LEO satellite in July. What is not in doubt, though, is that space-to-device technology is not only advancing, but also represents the ‘holy grail’ for space-to-device companies.
It could potentially provide 100% mobile coverage of the Earth, and enable space-connected IoT devices. Its applications cover, for example, logistics, monitoring estates of IoT devices in remote regions, broadcasting, agriculture, and of course military applications – all without the requirement for any additional equipment, such as dish or a specialised device.
A host of companies are chasing the prize – as well as AST and Lynk, other satellite-to-phone companies include EchoStar, Telesat, SpaceX, Omnispace, OneWeb, the Kuiper Project, and many others. Terrestrial operators such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Vodafone also want to partner with satellite operators as they chase 100% mobile coverage.
AST’s BW3 is the largest commercial communications array in LEO, following its launch in 2022, at 683m2, and is designed to connect directly with unmodified 4G LTE and 5G mobile phones over 3GPP standards and to draw its own energy from space. However, it will be replaced by up to 100 smaller, newer satellites called BlueBirds. The first five BlueBirds are set for launch in early 2024 and will have an area of 68m2.
Rival co-operation
However, after that the satellites are expected to be larger and more powerful. The company believes it can produce about six per month from its two production sites in Texas. Interestingly, AST has a multi-launch contract with rival SpaceX to launch its first operational BlueBird satellites.
SpaceX itself is partnering with T-Mobile, and in July wrote to the Federal Communications Commission asking it to authorise its Starlink’s satellites access to T-Mobile’s PCS G Block. Last year the two revealed tentative details about its plans to supplement T-Mobile coverage in ‘dead zones’. It plans to start testing satellite-to-device technology some time this year, but the two companies are still awaiting approval from the FCC. From a business perspective, if the plans are approved, it means that SpaceX can charge T-Mobile to provide supplementary mobile coverage from space.
However, Dish Network and AT&T for example are suggesting that granting approval to SpaceX could interfere with their own operations. Essentially, many companies and partnerships are jockeying for position with the aim of providing 100% global coverage to both smartphones (for consumers) and to IoT devices and self-driving vehicles so that they can sell services to enterprises.
NASA concerns
Even NASA is in on the act. In April 2020, AST SpaceMobile and Science LCC petitioned the FCC for permission to operate an array of 243 communications satellites in 16 different orbital planes. NASA initially expressed concerns about the risk of collisions between the SpaceMobile satellite constellation and its own A-train satellite constellation. However, NASA backtracked when AST proposed working together to minimise risk.
This is quite telling, as the operation of satellite-to-device arrays carries a strong geopolitical element. On 7 September 2023, Hong Kong-based Silkwave announced that it has started actively deploying a converged satellite-5G mobile network for “multimedia, communication, broadcasting, and navigation services for vehicles, smartphones, and IoT edge devices”.
Silkwave Holdings, the owner of Silkwave, has been steadily building technology expertise in the area, through M&A, and has built a satellite communications infrastructure that includes the L-band high-orbit (GEO) mobile broadcasting satellite AsiaStar, the acquisition of 40 GHz L-band mobile frequencies, satellite-to-device technology, broadcasting-communication technologies, and LEO two-way mobile broadband arrays. When complete, it will be the world’s first GEO-LEO-5G network.
China, the Digital Road, and satellite communications
Importantly, it is part of China’s ‘Belt and Road’ strategy – of which its Digital Road component is a core component. Belt and Road is aimed at building infrastructure, and China’s influence, in the Global South. This new satellite platform will cover China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and India and Pakistan. The satellite platform being developed by Silkwave targets three main use cases: satellite-to-vehicle infotainment and telematics; satellite-to-device communications; and, satellite-to-IoT.
The Digital Road – aka the modern-day version of the Silk Road – is seen by the US and Western allies as a threat, and is the reason organisations such as Huawei are being barred from competing for technological infrastructure contracts outside of the Global South. The West’s concerns are that Chinese technologies embedded in, for example, infrastructure such as satellite and 5G communications, could be used for espionage purposes, as well as a tool for censorship.
The strategy is aimed at bridging the Digital Divide, but many poorer countries are getting into debt to China, which can offer cheaper digital infrastructure enabled by lower wage costs from China, lower material costs, and Chinese government subsidies – against which Western organisations are able to compete.
September 2023 has set the tone for the next-gen satellite communications battle, which will combine space-based communications with 5G (and then 6G). The next year will see many more advances and will be a part of shaping global geopolitics.
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