Two companies are approaching one of the hottest current mobile trends, satellite communication, in a different way than Apple — with the goal of opening it up to be more useful to more people. The efforts could potentially pave the way for a new way to communicate using our phones that is as easy to use and as ubiquitous as SMS and WhatsApp.
Semiconductor company MediaTek makes chips for a massive array of products, from smartphones to smart speakers. Its latest release is the MT6825, a dedicated chip fitted to the new Cat and Motorola phones that enables two-way, text-based communications using satellites. Along with messaging, it also has emergency SOS communication, location sharing, location tracking, and weather forecasting.
“If we look at the [connectivity] story across Europe, 85% [of the landmass] is covered, which is pretty high,” he said. “But in a lot of other markets, it’s closer to 80% or 75%, and then you go to the U.S., where 68% to 70% of the landmass is covered. Canada is only 30% and Australia’s about 30% too. So you can see there’s a proposition here in Europe, but also as you go further afield to the Americas, Australia, and places like that, the proposition only grows in terms of its potential.
If the recipient doesn’t have the Bullitt Satellite Messenger app, they will receive a regular SMS message informing them and prompting them to download the app. It’s a free account, and according to Shepherd, the only time any payment is involved or a subscription plan is needed is when you connect to satellite coverage. In other words, if you’re safely home on Wi-Fi or cellular, messages will be free to send back through the app.
Does Bullitt want to become a carrier? While Bullitt has developed apps and software before, such as its thermal imaging system with Flir, the Bullitt Satellite Messenger app is its first at this level. Is it the start of something completely different for the company? “We have a road map forward for how we get to things like voice, how we get to multimedia messaging, and ultimately how we get towards 5G radio and true data services over satellite. That’s two or three years out, but we’ve built this with a view to how we continue to enhance, improve, and develop the technology to get to where we want to be, which is a full and rich set of data services.”