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I'm just glad because that's going to end the longstanding misconception that phones are connected to satellites. They will finally be.
I have never heard of this misconception, but fixing the notoriously unreliable mobile coverage by turning existing phones into "satellite (internet!) phones" sounds wild
This will hopefully give Canadians real options for mobile phone plans. It will be "illegal" because our telecom monopoly (oligopoly) writes the laws, but presumably with a US address it will be possible, like it was with satellite dishes, to get a proper phone on a network that doesn't gouge you. I'll be curious what the monopoly does to try and fight it.
I think these plans are used to entice people on PAYG onto a plan, so they don't advertise them to everyone.
For roaming data+voice I use a BNEsim e-sim, which works very well.
I'm just glad because that's going to end the longstanding misconception that phones are connected to satellites. They will finally be.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not exactly "satellite network", it's piggy-backing on an existing SAR reception infrastructure that used to require somewhat expensive dedicated devices. Not sure it's a good idea, I'd expect a wave of SAR requests for not real emergencies.
Aren't SARs generally mounted on satellites? E.g. https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Techn...
I'm just glad because that's going to end the longstanding misconception that phones are connected to satellites. They will finally be.
They are often off in the woods, though! Do some connect to satellites?
Edit: apparently satellite backhaul is a thing but kinda rare.
Huh, I wonder how they manage to pick up the tiny amount of RF energy a normal phone can output from that far away, and through the noise of literally millions of other phones in the satellite's field of view. Gotta be some real weird RF voodoo happening in there.
It seems like a sufficiently fancy phased antenna array on the satellite could compensate for that. Also, the atmosphere is 99% gone at 20 miles up, so that probably helps. Also, with the goal of only supporting SMS, a modern software defined radio chipset could probably be made to use an incredibly low data rate that adds more signal margin than currently used by any cell network.
Huh, I wonder how they manage to pick up the tiny amount of RF energy a normal phone can output from that far away, and through the noise of literally millions of other phones in the satellite's field of view. Gotta be some real weird RF voodoo happening in there.
2. Many users seen at once. Each beam is only a 15-mile-diameter circle. In the really remote areas where this coverage would be needed, I don't suspect that there would be too many cell phones - maybe a few hundred at most.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, so far they only promised to. So, probably it’ll be done the same way that Teslas could self drive, across the county, unassisted in 2017
> Well, so far they only promised to. Apple’s solution works today. Consumers are using it. This is mentioned in the article.
If we’re looking for existing technology, current actually working GPS phones would be a better showcase of what’s possible.
Just as a PSA in case not everyone knows this new feature. In the US and a growing number of other countries, the latest iPhones have a satellite network for emergencies. If tech giants are going to spend money on something cool, might as well use it. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213426
It's not exactly "satellite network", it's piggy-backing on an existing SAR reception infrastructure that used to require somewhat expensive dedicated devices. Not sure it's a good idea, I'd expect a wave of SAR requests for not real emergencies.
ADDED: There are also perhaps more common situations like going off the road in a snowstorm.
I'm just glad because that's going to end the longstanding misconception that phones are connected to satellites. They will finally be.
Ya know I am now realizing that I always assumed that I thought the link was phone -> tower -> satellite, and I’m just now realizing that that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. They are often off in the woods, though! Do some connect to satellites? Edit: apparently satellite backhaul is a thing but kinda rare.