This could be the era of satellite connectivity. After Apple and SpaceX, now Google has confirmed that its Android 14 will support Satellite Connectivity. Google’s Senior Vice President of Platforms and Ecosystems Hiroshi Lockheimer in a Tweet confirmed that company is ‘designing for satellites’ and is helping its partners in bringing this feature to the next version of Android.
“Wild to think about user experiences for phones that can connect to satellites. When we launched G1 in ’08, getting 3G + Wifi working was a stretch. Now we’re designing for satellites. Cool! Excited to support our partners in enabling all of this in the next version of Android!” Hiroshi Lockheimer said in a tweet.
Unlike the Cellular networks that depend on cellular towers, the Satellite connectivity provides communication services through satellites. The multi-network triangulation network model of Satellite connectivity helps network reach in the remotest part of the world where the cellular networks, at times, may not be available The satellite connectivity will help scale up the internet availability and prevent spotty coverage of network as do not rely on land-based towers. They transmit signals via satellites orbiting the earth offering a wide coverage.
Elon Musk’s Space X also recently announced its partnership with T-Link to offer satellite connectivity in the mobile dead zones of the US. The companies will need create a new network, broadcast from Starlink’s satellites using T-Mobile’s mid-band spectrum to deliver this service. T-Mobile initially plans to offer text message coverage through satellite connectivity which includes SMS, MMS and select messaging apps. This will later be broadened to voice and data coverage by the company. T-Mobile in its press release says that a majority of smartphones using T-Mobile’s network will be compatible with the new service using the device’s existing radio and there is no need to buy extra device for this.
Apple is also rumoured to offer satellite connectivity in its upcoming iPhone 14 series. There are reports stating that Apple has already finished the hardware testing for the feature but the final decision depends on its discussions with the satellite partners.
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