Qualcomm's Going Toe-To-Toe With Apple's Satellite Messaging Feature

Qualcomm has announced that its new processors and modems will allow phones to communicate with the Iridium satellite network, letting users send and receive messages even in areas without cell coverage. The Verge reports: The feature, called Snapdragon Satellite, will be available in phones that have both Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and its X70 Modem system, along with some additional radios. Phones that support it should be "launched in select regions starting in the second half of 2023," according to the company's press release, and there are several manufacturers working on designs, according to Francesco Grilli, a Qualcomm spokesperson who helped conduct a briefing for journalists. For now, the feature will likely only be available in flagship Android phones, as Qualcomm's only including the tech in its premium chips. Companies that want to add it to their phones will work directly with Qualcomm to figure out the software and hardware, but they shouldn't have to build new relationships with Iridium, according to Grilli. To the satellites, phones with the tech will look like any other Iridium-enabled devices. As for who will pay for the messages, "the cost of the satellite-based messaging service and dependent services will depend on OEMs and service providers and how they choose to offer the service," according to Grilli.

At first, Snapdragon Satellite will be limited to use in emergency situations, letting you contact someone for help even if you're in a remote area without cell service. According to Grilli, "Snapdragon Satellite leverages Garmin Response." When you send an SOS, "response coordinators immediately see the customer's Latitude/Longitude in their proprietary mapping and response coordination software to determine the appropriate agency to coordinate the rescue." Qualcomm says that, eventually, it'll support "premium messaging," which will likely cost extra and will have to be implemented by OEMs, cell carriers, or other over-the-top service providers. So far, this isn't something Apple offers; you can only send texts via satellite using its SOS feature.

While Qualcomm says the emergency service will be free or very cheap, it hasn't provided details yet on how much it'll cost you if you just want to be able to text your friends from remote areas, like a hiking trail, ski lift, or even a boat in the middle of the ocean. Once that service becomes available, however, Qualcomm says you'll be able to use it with your regular phone number. (That likely won't be the case for emergency use, but it matters less there.) [...] While details are sparse on what it'll be like to actually send and receive satellite messages, it sounds like the experience will be similar to Apple's in that you'll have to follow instructions on your phone to point it toward a satellite. According to Grilli, your phone will be able to predict where Iridium's satellites are months in advance thanks to the way its constellation orbits the Earth. When you go to connect to one, it'll use GPS and other measurements to determine where you need to be facing...

This all sounds promising

[nathrek]

Given there's still large amounts of remote areas on the globe without mobile coverage this sounds like a fantastic upgrade if they can pull it off like they say. Being able to use your regular phone for emergency contact when out in the outback would be something worth upgrading to.

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[anonymouscoward52236]

A phone? With a new feature? What is this, 2008 or something? LOL.

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[saloomy]

Must be. Yet again, Apple patents and brings something to market, and yet again, Android is ripping it off a-la Microsoft Windows / Mac OS decades prior.

https://www.patentlyapple.com/... [patentlyapple.com]

Haha. Mod me down, Apple haters?

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[saloomy]

How many of these Snapdragons will end up in non-android phones? Android in this case is an entire ecosystem of providers hell-bent on copying Apple. See: Samsung.

Citation: https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech... [cnet.com]

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[mspohr]

I believe that Starlink came up with this idea first. Their solution doesn't require special chips or phones. Rolling out with T-Mobile.

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[NickDngr]

Must be. Yet again, Apple patents and brings something to market, and yet again, Android is ripping it off a-la Microsoft Windows / Mac OS decades prior.

Bullshit. Apple and Microsoft both ripped off Xerox.

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[LostMyBeaver]

Gonna need better pricing. Iridium is so painfully overpriced that paying for the call will cost more than paying for the rescue helicopter you're requesting.

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[chiefcrash]

From the summary:

While Qualcomm says the emergency service will be free or very cheap

Re:This all sounds promising

[tlhIngan]

From the summary:

While Qualcomm says the emergency service will be free or very cheap

Qualcomm only makes chips. They used to make handsets back in the day, but they only make chips now.

Iridium is unlikely to make a deal with Qualcomm - they will likely have to make deals with manufacturers who produce the stuff. Quite likely what will happen is a three way partnership where a rescue operator (a private business - but one that coordinates rescue operations worldwide for companies like SPOT and others), a manufacturer and Iridium.

GlobalStar is a very cheap system to use, which is why it's often used, but it only has around 99% coverage of the world. (GlobalStar works by treating each satellite as a really high antenna, so the satellite only works when it can see both the user and the ground station).

Iridium is still around because it has 100% coverage, which is why the DoD exclusively uses them. Iridium is much more expensive to operate, but its satellites form a mesh network - one satellite can see the user, and as long as it can see another satellite or a ground station, it can relay the call. The call gets routed around the satellite array until it meets a satellite that has view of the ground station.

Note that satellite phone operators haven't really updated their technology because they don't have to - the demand for satellite phones is less about speed and data and more about coverage. Given the cost of the equipment, it's basically why the satellite phones from the 90s still work just fine on the network and that the technology is from that era. The satellite networks are far from being overwhelmed with traffic, and each satellite is expensive so trying to extract as much life out of them as possible means they aren't using the newest radio modulation techniques.

It may cost a few billion dollars to roll out 5G nationwide. It costs a few billion to launch a satellite into orbit. It is not economical to launch new satellite every few years as each new G comes out.

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[saloomy]

You seem very knowledgeable on the subject. Why aren't the old satellites updated with firmware to use new modulation techniques? Are new antenna required?

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[tlhIngan]

You seem very knowledgeable on the subject. Why aren't the old satellites updated with firmware to use new modulation techniques? Are new antenna required?

Well, first, it's not as simple since those satellites wouldn't likely have SDRs in them, so it would be hardware based radios.

Second, a big change like that likely wouldn't happen since you're talking about potentially bricking a bunch of billion dollar satellites up there - it's not something easy we can go fetch and fix if there are issues.

Third, you'd

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[Johny1234567890]

Looking forward for what future will bring :)

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[anonymouscoward52236]

Qualcomm is getting ready for Iridium to compete with Starlink's T-Mobile satellite service. That's what chip manufacturers do. They try to think 12 steps ahead, and make a chip for it.

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[dgatwood]

Qualcomm is getting ready for Iridium to compete with Starlink's T-Mobile satellite service. That's what chip manufacturers do. They try to think 12 steps ahead, and make a chip for it.

It's all a little baffling, though. Apple is building out their own solution for their phones, Qualcomm is building out their solution for other companies' phones, and meanwhile, T-Mobile and Starlink are on track to support even my decade-old iPhone 6s without any hardware changes. What's the benefit of designing this superfluous hardware?

Why not Snapdragon Linkabit?

[stevenm86]

And if they can't get coverage, they can add a little dome with a rotating antenna inside. I believe the original prototype is still at the museum in Building BC.

Cool

[backslashdot]

It's good they will allow regular non-emergency texting for a fee. That fee can help fund the maintenance of the emergency features.

Massive irony here

[storkus]

Globalstar was a joint partnership between Qualcomm & Verizon (I think 1 or 2 others too); I still have a Qualcomm GSP-1600 Globalstar handset & can still activate it (did a few years ago). From a tech stand point, it is still (AFAIK) the only CDMA satellite system ever built!

Iridium (along with some others that quickly imploded because they didn't go bankrupt & get bailout $ like these 2) was the competition using TDMA like everyone else.

Sending a text will be much easier than receiving

[clive_p]

Sending a text from a phone located in some remote region will just depend on it knowing when the next Iridium spacecraft passes over, so it will be fairly easy, given enough transmitter power and a suitable antenna. But receiving a message sent from space to some mobile phone will be much harder, as the Iridium network will not generally have any idea where on Earth that phone is. It would be hopelessly inefficient to have all satellites broadcast the message all over the world. The cellphone network o

What about India etc?

[Gaglia]

Can someone please explain this to me? As far as I know, many countries (including India) have super strict regulations about importing ANY form of satellite radio. So for instance you cannot go on vacation there with a sat phone, you need a special permission. How will this work in those cases, also with the new iPhones? Will they check your phone at the border control to ensure that the feature is not enabled?