Focus: Telecom

PARIS — The direct-to-device (D2D) market has been the subject of excitement and hype in the satellite industry in the past few years, with the promise of expanding satellite’s market share and offering connectivity to phones and devices everywhere.  It’s early days for this market, as Apple was an early-mover in offering the service to customers....

SoftBank and Intelsat are teaming up to develop and launch a “Ubiquitous Network” concept that uses 5G connections between terrestrial and mobile and satellite communications networks. The companies announced Tuesday during World Space Business Week that they plan to jointly develop a hybrid communication solution based on 3GPP 5G non-terrestrial network standards.  Explaining the need...

PARIS — The satellite industry is undergoing massive change as many of the largest satellite operators consolidate to deal with competition from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.  During the operator panel in Paris at World Space Business Week on Sept. 16, Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg described the current environment as a “quantum period of change” unlike anything...

AST SpaceMobile confirmed the milestone launch of its first five commercial satellites on Thursday morning. These satellites will start service for the company’s cellular broadband network in space.  SpaceX launched the five BlueBird satellites on a Falcon 9 mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 4:52 am. EDT. AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan confirmed post-launch that...

T-Mobile reported Wednesday that it successfully sent a wireless emergency alert via Starlink satellites, testing a capability that will provide emergency warnings to the public outside of cell service.  T-Mobile performed the test on Sept. 5, sending an emergency alert message, which was received by a Starink satellite and broadcast out to an unspecified geographic...

Verizon is the latest big name telco to accelerate its reach into the satellite arena. It has teamed up with Skylo to launch a commercial direct-to-device messaging service for Verizon customers so they can stay connected wherever they are. The two companies announced the partnership, Aug. 28. Starting this fall, customers on certain smartphones have...

The 3GPP mobile standards organization has approved an Intelsat-led Ku-band project for standardization. Intelsat led the effort with support from 35 companies and 3GPP community members, including other satellite operators, terrestrial vendors, and mobile network operators (MNOs). The approval of the “Ku-band Work Package” means that Intelsat and other satellite providers will now begin the...

EchoStar Corporation has opened a new Open RAN (O-RAN) testing and evaluation lab at the company’s data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The the Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment (ORCID) is a site where vendors can test and validate O-RAN solutions using EchoStar’s live O-RAN network. The facility was supported by a $50 million...

Comcast Business signed a deal with SpaceX to provide for Starlink connectivity to its enterprise customers. The collaboration announced June 21 brings satellites to the Comcast Business managed connectivity portfolio.  Comcast said this will bring Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology to enhance network redundancy and provide connectivity for enterprises in remote areas. Comcast’s managed connectivity...

Apple is expanding the capabilities of its satellite messaging on the iPhone. The new iOS 18 update will broaden the availability beyond emergency messaging, and Messages via satellite will be an option when cellular and Wi-Fi connections are not available.  Apple announced the update as part of its iOS 18 announcement on June 10. However,...