Connectivity

AST SpaceMobile can now test its satellite-to-cell service with partners Verizon and AT&T after the FCC granted the company special temporal authority (STA) in the United States.  AST SpaceMobile announced […]

Orange launched a new project to replace the existing satellite infrastructure of the French Wallis and Futuna Islands in the Pacific Ocean, working with SES. The Nuanua project will use […]

Viasat has a new agreement to work with the European Space Agency (ESA) on direct-to-device capabilities, and previewed that this could lead to a new Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) network.  Viasat […]

NEC XON, an African information and communications technology integrator, and Skywire, a South African wireless network service provider, deployed a OneWeb satellite solution to address connectivity challenges in rural South […]

Es’hailSat has signed a new broadcasting capacity deal in North Africa. It has signed a multi-year multi-transponder deal with the public broadcaster of Morocco, Société Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de […]

Eutelsat Group and Nigerian satellite operator Nigcomsat entered a multi-year agreement to deliver Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite services in Nigeria, Eutelsat announced Jan. 23. The multi-million-dollar deal leverages the OneWeb LEO […]

SpaceX‘s Starlink business grew across consumer subscribers, government contracts, and in mobility markets like maritime and aviation, and more than doubled Starlink revenue in 2024 compared to 2023, according to […]

NASA selected Viasat for the Near Space Network (NSN) Services contract, to provide global ground segment support services to NASA missions, Viasat announced Jan. 21. Viasat plans to support NASA […]

SKY Perfect JSAT will bring new disaster response capabilities to the Kobe region of Japan. Sky Perfect JSAT will deploy a disaster-response satellite communications system for Glion Arena Kobe, a […]

Intelsat has expanded its agreement with Alaskan telecommunications company GCI to include multi-orbit broadband services in Alaska, the company announced Jan. 8. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.  […]

Telstra, Australia’s biggest telco, has announced a new collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink that will see it bring satellite-to-mobile text messaging to its customers in Australia. Telstra’s goal for the service […]

Intuitive Machines has integrated hardware for Nokia’s Lunar cellular network onto the IM-2 spacecraft set to launch to the Moon next month. Nokia and Intuitive Machines intend to deploy the […]

Satellai, a new startup offering AI-integrated pet solutions, is launching a series of new products to bring the benefits of satellite connectivity for pet tracking. The company announced the launches, […]

EchoStarMobile, along with Murata and Kyocera AVX are debuting a new IoT connectivity product for European and North American markets. It is a new transceiver and antenna with satellite connectivity […]

Verizon Communications will display its latest critical communications capabilities to public safety, government, and military agencies at the EDGE conference from Jan. 5 through 7. Satellite tech will play a […]

OneWeb service has been restored after the constellation experienced a 48-hour outage this week, Eutelsat Group confirmed on Thursday.  The outage coincided with the end of the year and began […]

Direct-to-cell connectivity is set to begin in  Ukraine this year. Kyivstar, a digital operator in Ukraine, has signed an agreement with Starlink, to introduce direct-to-cell satellite connectivity in Ukraine. The […]

A Swedish research project is kicking off in 2025 to explore integrating mobile communication and satellite communication in 6G. The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) announced a grant of […]

Four Astranis MicroGEO satellites are on their way to orbit after a dedicated SpaceX launch early Sunday.  SpaceX launched the four satellites to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Cape Canaveral […]

The European Commission signed the contract on Monday for Europe’s IRIS² constellation with the group of companies tasked with delivering the constellation in the SpaceRISE consortium.  The EC Director-General for […]

Here’s a look back at some of Via Satellite‘s most-read stories of 2024. Our top stories of the year look back at everything from the SES/Intelsat acquisition, John Deere’s deal […]

T-Mobile is preparing to start beta testing with SpaceX’s Starlink direct-to-cell satellite service in early 2025 and opened registration on Monday for a limited number of slots to participate in […]

Iridium debuted two new products this week — a smaller, more powerful IoT module, and Iridium Certus GMDSS for maritime safety communications.  The Iridium Certus GMDSS combines Global Maritime Distress and […]

AST SpaceMobile has signed a commercial agreement with its longtime investor Vodafone Group that lasts through 2034. This agreement establishes the framework for Vodafone to offer space-based cellular broadband connectivity […]

Thaicom has a made a key regulatory breakthrough in India. Its subsidiary Ipstar India has obtained an authorization to provide satellite services with Thaicom satellites in India from the Indian […]

SpaceX completed the first shell of its direct-to-cell constellation this week, after recently receiving approval from the FCC for its service with T-Mobile.  SpaceX launched 20 Starlink satellites on Wednesday […]

Northrop Grumman has reached a key milestone in a major Arctic satellite mission. It has successfully handed over mission operations of Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) satellites and […]

The FCC gave SpaceX approval to operate satellite direct-to-cellular service with T-Mobile in an order released Nov. 26.  This is the FCC’s first instance of approving supplemental coverage from space […]

Working together, Deutsche Telekom, Qualcomm, and Skylo completed a trial to send a text message over a Geostationary (GEO) satellite, the companies announced Tuesday. The proof-of-concept was conducted in Greece […]

Sky Perfect JSAT is launching a new facility as it looks to be a pioneer in 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) technologies in Japan. It has unveiled its Universal NTN Innovation […]