What if phones could connect to the network in white areas, far from any mobile antennas or Internet cables? This perspective has been causing speculation in the tech and telecom industry for several years. In recent weeks, several major market players have simultaneously announced initial agreements allowing smartphones to connect in this way, thanks to satellites. A new possibility for the moment technically limited but which represents an area of additional potential activity for new entrants in the telecom sector: the constellations of satellites and the leader in the sector, Starlink, launched by Elon Musk.
On September 7, Apple unveiled the iPhone 14, its first device to feature some form of satellite connection. This novelty is presented as a way to make emergency calls, for example when hiking in the mountains, going out to sea or in the event of an accident in a very isolated area. This feature “Combines tightly integrated components with software to allow antennas to connect directly to a satellite to send a message to emergency services when cellular or Wi-Fi coverage is absent,” explains Apple in a press release.
miniature antenna
However, sending a distress message with the iPhone 14 will be much more complicated than mobile communication: “Satellites are mobile and have limited bandwidth, sending messages can take a few minutes,” warns Apple, while specifying that the smartphone will indicate to the user “how to direct your phone to a satellite”. This new service will be available in the United States and Canada from November and will be free for two years.
To offer this innovation, Apple had to integrate a miniature antenna into its smartphone: this makes it possible to capture part of the signal from the constellations of satellites, without having a parabolic antenna or a specific telephone handset. The manufacturer of the iPhone has an agreement with Globalstar, one of the operators of “low altitude” constellations, these sets of satellites flying about 500 kilometers from the Earth in order to cover underserved areas of the globe. Specialist since 2007 in professional satellite messaging, Globalstar explained that it had entered into an agreement for the launch of 17 new satellites for 327 million dollars, of which Apple will finance 95% in exchange for 85% of their bandwidth.
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