Satellite direct-to-cellular company AST SpaceMobile has confirmed a target launch date of September 12 for its first five BlueBird satellites, destined for low Earth orbit, which will provide the basis for initial commercial non-terrestrial network (NTN) services for carriers including AT&T and Verizon.
The...
SoftBank said that it will offer eight service plans for businesses and government agencies
Japanese telecom operator SoftBank has struck a deal with Eutelsat Group to offer satellite connectivity services. The carrier said that it plans to launch those services this December, leveraging Eutelsat OneWeb's...
Alex Rodriguez' SPAC, called SLAM, is being delisted ahead of its merger with Lynk for failure to complete the combination within the required timeframe
Baseball player and entrepreneur Alex Rodriguez's special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), called Slam, is being de-listed from trading on the Nasdaq...
African fibre broadband and satellite connectivity provider Liquid Intelligent Technologies has signed an exclusive deal with Globalstar to sell the US satellite firm’s private 5G products in Africa and the Middle East. The collaboration will potentially expand on a non-exclusive basis to also cover...
If only to remind us that, despite all the hullabaloo, non-terrestrial network (NTN; satellite) IoT technology remains a putative proposition, Barcelona-based satellite IoT provider Sateliot has issued a press notice to declare the launch of four new low-Earth orbit (LEO) nanosatellites on a SpaceX...
AST SpaceMobile provided a business update this week, as it preps for the launch of its first five satellites to support a commercial direct-to-cellular service. That long-anticipated launch is expected in the first half of September.
"We stand at a pivotal moment for AST...
Over the last two decades, the world has experienced widespread innovation in wireless technologies. We have seen breakthroughs in Wi-Fi connectivity, cellular, and significant growth in connected devices. However patchy coverage, dropped calls, and inconsistent data speeds continue to challenge 4G and 5G networks,...
Pixel 9 devices are the first with Google's Satellite SOS, supported by Skylo
Satellite direct-to-cellular provider Skylo announced that its Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) connectivity is integrated into the new Google Pixel 9 smartphone series, to support emergency communications when a terrestrial cellular network is not...
The GSMA said it expects mobile traffic in the APAC region to quadruple between 2023 and 2030
The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA)'s most recent Asia Pacific (APAC) mobility report demonstrates how critical mobile technologies and services are for this region, which documented...
KDDI-owned cellular IoT provider Soracom is offering satellite NB-IoT in a phased and controlled commercial launch to key enterprise customers. The move follows integration with US-based non-terrestrial network (NTN) service operator Skylo Technologies, which lets terrestrial Release 17-level 3GPP-based NB-IoT hardware connect via its...
GSMA Intelligence begins tracking NTN developments as satellite and telecom converge
In a sign of the increasing convergence of telecom and satellite, GSMA Intelligence has put out its first quarterly tracker focused on satellite and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN).
The report identified 91 telecommunications operators...
Anritsu and fellow test equipment company ETS-Lindgren have collaborated on a new Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) testing solution, which combines Anritsu’s MT8821C Radio Communication Analyzer with ETS-Lindgren’s EMQuest antenna measurement software and supports narrowband IoT NTN testing.
The MT8821C has a wide dynamic range, supports cellular technologies and...
Amazon's Project Kuiper expects to start service demonstrations with Vrio and others later this year
Satellite TV operator Vrio has announced that it plans to use Amazon's Project Kuiper Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to provide broadband internet service across seven countries in South America.
Those...
13 new satellites support its direct-to-cellular service with T-Mobile US
On the 14th anniversary of its Falcon 9 rocket's first launch, Starlink put up 20 new satellites, 13 of which have direct-to-cellular capabilities.
The launch brings the number of D2C-capable satellites that Starlink has in space...
Verizon makes a $100 million commitment to AST
AST SpaceMobile has followed up a commercialization announcement with AT&T with the news today that the satellite company has struck a deal with Verizon to provide direct-to-cellular service to the carrier's customers and leverage Verizon's 850 MHz...
With the continued evolution of 5G, close-in priorities for operators are understanding the why and how of 5G-Advanced, working with satellite providers on Non-terrestrial networks (NTN), and setting the stage for the commercialization of 6G in the 2030 timeframe. And before any of this...
Cellular MVNO Transatel has struck a deal with satellite IoT operator OQ Technology to be able to offer a converged terrestrial/non-terrestrial cellular NB-IoT network service. OQ Technology has deployed NB-IoT on a constellation of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites. It wants a “global constellation” to...
The latest test and measurement trends include Non-terrestrial and Open RAN networks
To set the stage for the Test and Measurement Forum (available on demand here), Emil Olbrich, vice president of network technologies with Signals Research Group (SRG), laid out some of the market trends...
Satellite connectivity startup Skylo, offering Release-17 level NB-IoT on existing geostationary satellites, has certified the Altair ALT1250 chipset from Sony Semiconductor Israel for dual-mode cellular and satellite IoT communications. It is the fifth module to be certified by Skylo, RCR Wireless understands. Devices based...
Satellite direct-to-cellular service provider Lynk announced today that it has signed a five-year contract with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to enable U.S federal agencies to purchase its services for unmodified smartphones over the next five years.
Lynk explained in a release that...
The GSA report had identified 77 publicly announced partnerships between operators and satellite vendors
Satellites are rapidly gaining prominence in the world of cellular communication, with 50 operators in 37 countries and territories already planning satellite services, according to a recent report by the GSA.
However,...
The commercial highlights an AT&T satellite-to-cellular service
In the most recent of a series of ongoing tests with AT&T, AST SpaceMobile streamed one of the carrier's commercials from space to a smartphone.
The two companies are conducting tests via AST SpaceMobile's BlueWalker 3 satellite, which is...
From emergency texting to revolutionizing agriculture, explore the promises and challenges of cellular coverage into space in RCR Wireless News' new report.
In the report we explore the intricacies of space-based cellular connectivity and delve into the status of NTN standardization and commercialization.
Make sure you...
The interest in cellular non-terrestrial network technology and the business opportunity is reflected in the amount of activity in the space in recent years, as 3GPP 5G standards work has built momentum toward convergence of satellite and cellular networks and raised the possibility of...
