When you do not need telcos to connect your handphones
News that matter in Papua New Guinea
When you do not
need telcos to connect your handphones
PORT MORESBY: Telecommunication
retail business is slowly but surely becoming a sunset industry because of the
prospect of the prospect of handphone users connecting directly to satellites.
It is a technology that is already
developed but the trillion-dollar question is whether it will eventually be
made accessible to all by governments.
Talk of such a technology surfaced in
December 2019 and the technology development has been kept “secret” till today.
The reason is plain simple. If the
technology is allowed to apply to handphone users, telecommunication companies
worldwide are set to become sunset business, just like what technology has
inflicted on many businesses. Examples are photography and films, turntable
records and Compact Discs, etc.
The interesting feature news was published by The National:
Satellite links to phones in the offing
September 10,
2021The NationalWeekender
TECHNOLOGY
THE prospect of handphone users
connecting directly to satellites is a technology that is already developed but
the trillion-dollar question is whether it will eventually be made accessible
to all.
Talk of such a technology surfaced in December 2019 and the technology
development has been kept “secret” till today.
The reason is plain simple. If the technology is allowed to apply to handphone
users, telecommunication companies worldwide are set to become sunset business,
just like what technology has inflicted on many businesses. Examples are
photography and films, turntable records and Compact Discs, etc.
For now, Apple’s iPhone 13 satellite connectivity has been reportedly to be
just for emergencies.
The iPhone 13 could have a Qualcomm X60 baseband chip allowing it to not only
use 4G and 5G, but satellite signals. Technology analyst Kuo Ming-Chi named
Globalstar as the most likely satellite communications company collaborating
with Apple on the service.
In a note to investors, seen by MacRumors, Kuo explained that the iPhone 13
lineup will feature hardware that is able to connect to LEO satellites. If
enabled with the relevant software features, this could allow iPhone 13 users
to make calls and send messages without the need for a 4G or 5G cellular connection.
The iPhone 13 reportedly features a customized Qualcomm X60 baseband chip
that supports satellite communications. Other smartphone brands are apparently
currently waiting until 2022 to adopt the X65 baseband chip necessary to
implement satellite communications functions.
SpaceX’s Starlink is a purveyor of LEO internet connectivity that some readers
may already be familiar with, but the LEO satellite communication service
provider that is “most likely to cooperate with Apple in terms of technology and
service coverage” is said to be Globalstar. Qualcomm has purportedly been
working with Globalstar to support the n53 band in future X65 baseband chips.
Kuo explained that the “simplest scenario” for providing LEO connectivity to
users is if individual network operators work with Globalstar. This means that
customers of a partner network operator could use Globalstar’s satellite
communication service on the iPhone 13 directly through their network
operator with no additional contracts or payments required. Kuo added that LEO
satellite communications is a technology comparable to mmWave 5G in terms of
its impact on the network industry and that Apple may leverage both
technologies. Kuo says that Apple is “optimistic” about the trend of satellite
communications and set up a specific team for research and development of
technologies related to it “some time” ago.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on the existence of this team in 2019,
explaining that Apple was looking into new ways to beam data like internet connectivity
directly to iPhones and other devices. Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook
reportedly made the project a company priority, with the main aim to beam data
directly to a user’s iPhone without reliance on wireless carriers and network
coverage.
In 2017, Apple hired two Google executives with satellite expertise, who are
believed to have been leading the team dedicated to satellites and related
wireless technologies.
The company is believed to have plans to bring LEO satellite communications to more
devices in the future to “provide innovative experiences”. These may include
Apple’s mixed reality head-mounted display device, electric vehicle, and other
Internet of Things (IoT) accessories, according to Kuo.
According to a Dec 20, 2019 Tech Crunch report, Apple is said to be working on
satellite technology, having hired a number of aerospace engineers to form a
team along with satellite and antenna designers, according to a new report from
Bloomberg.
The report notes that this is an early-stage secret project that could still be
scrapped, but that the purpose of the team and its work is to potentially
develop communications satellite technology that can send and receive data
directly to user devices, including the iPhone, in a bid to make it possible to
connect Apple devices without the need of a third-party network.
Bloomberg says that Apple would not necessarily be building its own satellite
hardware — it could instead be developing just the transmission devices or
ground-based equipment to make use of data transmissions for orbital
communications equipment. The tech could be used for actually delivering data
directly to Apple devices, or it could just connect them to each other
independent of a cellphone carrier data network. It also could be used to
provide more accurate location services for better maps and guidance, the
report says. Apple is said to have hired both executives and engineers from the
aerospace and satellite industry, including Skybox Imaging alumni Michael Trela
and John Fenwick, who are leading the team. These two formerly headed up
Google’s satellite and spacecraft division. New hires include former Aerospace
Corporation executive Ashley Moore Williams, as well as key personnel from the
wireless networking and content-delivery network industries. – Picture
by Erik Simonsen/Getty Images
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