World’s first satellite messaging smartphone
UK based smartphone maker Bullitt Group claims it is launching the world’s first combination 5G terrestrial and satellite phone with its own satellite messaging system, early next year. The satellite option means you are never out of service, but the 5G terrestrial option brings your phone bills down to earth. The satellite messaging system is proprietary and could be surveillance proof.
The product will be built with the 3GPP NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) chipset from Taiwanese processor giant MediaTek and will become the world’s first combined smartphone and two-way satellite messenger, Bullitt claims. Bullitt-designed 5G smartphones can talk to the satellites through an over-the-top (OTT) satellite messaging service, supported by its own bespoke software and service components. The devices are set to launch in Q1 of 2023.
In a video on Vimeo, Bullitt – The world’s first satellite messaging smartphone, Bullitt and MediaTek explain how they’ve collaborated for 18 months on proprietary software and service components that were developed in parallel to provide the OTT satellite messaging service. In order to minimise comms bills, the device software is intelligent enough to switch to the satellite link only when no cellular or Wi-Fi connection is available. The service integrates with the user’s existing contacts to provide a seamless experience when using the satellite link to communicate with a phone on a cellular network. The time to initially connect to the satellite and send a message is around 10 seconds.
Bullitt normally designs and manufactures mobile phones under brand licenses from Caterpillar and Motorola. Over 13 years Bullitt developed an understanding that customers often find themselves on the fringes of cellular coverage, according to Richard Wharton, co-founder of the Bullitt Group. It found that across the globe mobile phone users will lose their signal for tens of billions of hours each year with Americans alone losing cell coverage for over 22 billion hours annually.
“We have known for a long time that the answer was in satellite but an invisible and seamless integration into a smartphone creates enormous technical challenges,” said Wharton. “MediaTek and Bullitt share a pioneering spirit and a history of innovation so now, nearly two years into our relationship, we jointly stand at the forefront of a new era in telecommunications. This is the quickest, simplest way for carrier channel partners, such as mobile network operators in European, the Middle East and Africa, to offer total peace of mind to their customers, Wharton said.
The formulation of the 3GPP NTN standard is the critical battle ground as inventors compete to make the best blend of cellular and satellite connectivity in the same device, according to JC Hsu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Wireless Communications Business Unit at MediaTek. “We are very proud of having created the two-way satellite messaging technology used in this first commercially available phone and for being the pioneers in creating the ecosystem based on 3GPP NTN standards for satellite communication,” said Hsu.