Sure, current iPhones can send data via satellites in emergencies, but two new demonstrations show that we might soon be able to routinely make voice phone calls via satellite connectivity. You can watch the call and 5G demo in the video below.
The test phone call – along with a separate 5G data download – was made from Maui, Hawaii, to Madrid using a new low Earth orbit satellite …
Beyond Emergency SOS via Satellite
The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature of the iPhone 14 and 15 relies on a super-low bandwidth connection, suitable only for very short text messages.
The iPhone asks you a series of questions, and turns your answers into short codes that can be transmitted in just a few bytes of data using existing satellites designed for this type of emergency messaging.
You cannot make voice calls using this feature.
Phone calls via satellite
What AST SpaceMobile has demonstrated, in contrast, is using satellite comms for ordinary voice calls and 5G data transmission. The company achieved a download rate of 14Mbps, which is nothing to write home about in terms of ordinary 5G base stations, but is a big deal for satellite comms.
The company made the announcement in a press release.
AST SpaceMobile, the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones, today announced another unprecedented leap in telecommunications by successfully making the first-ever 5G connection for voice and data between an everyday, unmodified smartphone and a satellite in space.
Company engineers demonstrated space-based 5G connectivity by placing a call from Maui, Hawaii, USA, to a Vodafone engineer in Madrid, Spain, using AT&T spectrum and AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 test satellite […]
In a separate test, the company broke its previous space-based cellular broadband data session record by achieving a download rate of approximately 14 Mbps.
The call was placed from a location with no mobile voice or data connection, using a completely unmodified 5G smartphone (in this case, a Samsung Galaxy S22). Vodafone and Nokia both partnered with AST and AT&T for the test.
Will bring voice calls and 5G to the wilderness
The hope is that this tech will enable full smartphone connectivity in areas beyond the reach of a ground-based mobile base station, with all the companies involved expressing their ambitions.
AST: “We are more confident than ever that space-based cellular broadband can help transform internet connectivity across the globe by filling in gaps and connecting the unconnected.”
Vodafone: “Vodafone is striving to close the mobile usage gap for millions of people across Europe and Africa.”
AT&T: “We’re all working together to achieve the shared vision of space-based connectivity for consumers, businesses, and first responders all around the globe.”
Nokia: “Space-based cellular broadband can provide crucial connectivity to underserved communities around the world.”
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