Skylo Introduces Satellite Connectivity for Smartphones with Snapdragon

September 12, 2024 at 08:00 AM EDT

Snapdragon X80-equipped smartphones will seamlessly support satellite messaging, location sharing, and SOS

Skylo today unveiled satellite connectivity capability for smartphones powered by Snapdragon® X80 5G Modem-RF System from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. This built-in access to Skylo's pioneering Non-Terrestrial-Network (NTN) is designed to enable smartphones using Snapdragon X80 with support for direct communications over satellite. This includes two-way peer-to-peer text messaging, location sharing and SOS notification to emergency services.

The Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System maximizes data speeds and performance, supports superior call connectivity and coverage, and extends battery life on mobile devices. Snapdragon Modem-RF systems are synonymous with mobility and are the foundation for 5G connectivity across smartphones, IoT devices, wearables, automotive and other segments using chipsets from Qualcomm Technologies. The Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System has completed all testing and is now Skylo certified.

Skylo’s global non-terrestrial network (NTN) utilizes dedicated Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum to reach nine Earth stations across half a dozen partner constellations with more than 50 million square kilometers of coverage, ensuring that smartphones can seamlessly switch from cellular networks to satellite and stay connected. The use of MSS allows Skylo to provide seamless, comprehensive satellite connectivity to smartphones using Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF without requiring carriers to allocate valuable terrestrial spectrum or go through extensive regulatory hurdles.

“This is an impressive moment for cellular connectivity made possible by the strength of Skylo’s pioneering network and Qualcomm Technologies’ groundbreaking Snapdragon X80,” said Francesco Grilli, vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “First we brought seamless NTN to IoT and together, we’re making significant strides in smartphone connectivity. We are extremely proud of this collaboration with Skylo and look forward to what’s possible as we continue expanding satellite access to other industries, like enterprise, automotive, and wearables.”

“Our work with Qualcomm Technologies provides smartphone users the peace of mind that comes with satellite connectivity,” said Dr. Andrew Nuttall, CTO and co- founder of Skylo. “Qualcomm Technologies has been an exemplary partner and we look forward to introducing new, exciting satellite integrations into everyday use-cases.”

More information on the Snapdragon X80 Modem-RF System can be found here.

About Skylo

Skylo Technologies is a global Non-Terrestrial Network service provider based in Mountain View, CA, offering a service that allows smartphones and IoT cellular devices to connect directly over existing satellites. Devices connected over satellite are managed and served by Skylo's commercial NTN vRAN, featuring a 3GPP standards-based cloud-native base station and core. Skylo works with existing satellite operators, network operators, and device makers to provide subscribers an anywhere, anytime connectivity solution between terrestrial and satellite networks. Skylo's focus is on enabling connected services for people outdoors and connected workflows for machines at work across critical industries such as agriculture, maritime, logistics, mining, and others, in addition to mass-market consumer devices. For more information, visit www.skylo.tech.

Qualcomm and Snapdragon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated. Snapdragon and Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.