Focus: Telecom

Transformative deep tech innovation is the key to unlocking value from the emerging space ecosystem – and there’s no doubt in my mind that the telecoms industry will play a […]

Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile network operator, is now offering direct-to-cell services for its customers by working with SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. First announced early this year, the service is now available […]

Industry group the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA) has released new strategic recommendations for standards-based and interoperable non-terrestrial network (NTN) solutions.  This is aimed at influencing architectures for direct-to-device services […]

OQ Technology successfully sent an emergency broadcast message directly to phones through its satellite constellation in a recent demonstration.  The demonstration took place in Luxembourg, sending an emergency broadcast message […]

Orange is launching a satellite messaging service working with Skylo, the French telco announced Tuesday during an Orange OpenTech event.  Orange said the service is currently available in France and […]

The direct-to-device (D2D) market recently saw a significant piece of consolidation with Lynk Global and Omnispace’s plans to merge, along with a strategic bet from SES. Once the merger is […]

AST SpaceMobile and Vodafone announced plans for a new European satellite constellation on Nov. 7 to provide direct-to-device (D2D) services. The two companies announced a joint venture earlier this year […]

British telecommunications company Virgin Media O2 is working with Starlink to offer direct-to-cell services to its customers in a new offering called O2 Satellite.  Under the deal announced Thursday, O2 […]

Orange Business is integrating Eutelsat’s OneWeb satellite service into a mobile, emergency telecommunications unit called SafetyCase, Orange announced Wednesday.  SafetyCase is a compact solution can be deployed in emergency situations […]

Verizon has formalized a commercial agreement with AST SpaceMobile to provide its direct-to-cell services to Verizon’s customers starting in 2026, AST SpaceMobile announced Wednesday.  This comes after last year, Verizon […]

Karrier One, a company deploying a decentralized telecom network, announced a partnership with Iridium Communications this week to integrate its direct-to-device service into the Karrier One ecosystem.  Karrier One, based […]

IoT provider Soracom said that its non-terrestrial network (NTN) integration with Skylo is now in general availability for North America, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania. This allows Soracom customers to […]

Satellite operators Viasat and Space42 are pitching a new way to approach the direct-to-device (D2D) market, based on shared spectrum and treating satellites like shared infrastructure of cell towers. The […]

Capgemini, Thales and Thales Alenia Space have won a key direct-to-device (D2D) contract in France. The three companies have been selected by the French Space Agency (CNES) as part of […]

EchoStar is canceling its plans for the direct-to-device (D2D) satellite constellation announced last month, instead selling spectrum to SpaceX that will be used for Starlink’s own D2D services in a […]

Skylo reports it has completed an over-the-air (OTA) voice call over narrowband satellite network (NB-NTN), paving the way to roll out a voice calling feature on its network.  Skylo shared […]

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions reported that over-the-air (OTA) testing with Intelsat demonstrated a 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) over a satellite in Geostationary Orbit (GEO).  The demonstration Kratos announced July […]

One of the biggest telcos/wireless operators in Canada is bringing satellite messaging to market. Rogers is launching Rogers Satellite, a new satellite-to-mobile text messaging service, enabled by SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, […]

Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile plan to offer satellite direct-to-device services to mobile network operators in Europe starting in 2026 under a new joint venture between the companies called SatCo. The […]

T-Mobile will be launching its new nationwide satellite service to subscribers in late July. T-Mobile’s satellite-to-mobile service, T-Satellite with Starlink, will be commercially available on July 23 and will include […]

Iridium Communications is partnering with Syniverse on the rollout of its Iridium NTN Direct service. Iridium plans to integrate with Syniverse’s global platform to contribute to mobile network operator (MNO) […]

EchoStar responded to the FCC this week after the Commission opened an inquiry into the operator’s spectrum. In new filings, EchoStar argued the FCC’s inquiry threatens its business, 5G progress […]

EchoStar CEO Hamid Akhavan teased plans for a direct-to-device satellite constellation during EchoStar’s investor call on May 8, saying that while EchoStar hasn’t made many announcements, it is getting plans […]

The FCC granted Lynk Global approval to provide satellite direct-to-device services in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.  Lynk is working with mobile network operator (MNO) partner Docomo Pacific, subsidiary […]

Skylo Technologies is bringing two-way SMS messaging over satellite to Verizon customers thanks to a partnership with Syniverse. Skylo has extended the Syniverse Evolved Mobility solution as a method for […]

T-Mobile cut the price on its commercial service for “T-Satellite” messaging, and plans to start service in July. T-Mobile is setting the price at $10 per month, and is offering […]

Japanese mobile network operator Rakuten Mobile and AST SpaceMobile completed what they claim is the first-ever broadband video call between unmodified smartphones in Japan using a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite. […]

Taiwan’s largest telco, Chunghwa Telecom, is investing in a dedicated MicroGEO satellite built by Astranis, to increase access to satellite capacity. The companies said this will be the first communications […]

Telesat and ADN Telecom Limited signed a multi-year partnership on Tuesday, to deliver Telesat Lightspeed Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) connectivity solutions in Bangladesh and South Asia. ADN Telecom is a telecommunications […]

Charter Communications and Comcast will partner with Skylo to launch satellite-based cellular services on consumer devices in the coming weeks, the companies announced Thursday. Charter’s Spectrum Mobile and Comcast’s Xfinity […]