MediaTek to Unleash Satellite Connectivity for Smartphones

MediaTek is the latest company to join the rush to bring satellite connectivity to smartphones. 

At next week’s MWC(Opens in a new window) in Barcelona, MediaTek plans on demoing a satellite connectivity system it first teased in November, which can offer two-way messaging on smartphones. 

“The first smartphones with MediaTek’s satellite connectivity are also launching, with more devices to be unveiled in the coming month,” the company added. 

Motorola Defy 2
(Credit: Bullitt Group)

The new devices include the Motorola Defy 2(Opens in a new window) and the Cat S75(Opens in a new window) rugged smartphones, which feature a satellite messaging platform from British company Bullitt. Lenovo is also introducing the Motorola Defy Satellite Link(Opens in a new window), a handheld Bluetooth device that can provide satellite messaging via Bullitt to any paired smartphone. 

The Motorola Defy Satellite Link.
(Bullitt Group)

Through the devices, Bullitt plans on selling customers a $149 yearly subscription for up to 30 two-way, satellite-based messages per month, and access to an “SOS assist” emergency response center.   

The companies follow Apple, which developed its own satellite-based SOS messaging feature for the iPhone 14. Satellite connectivity means a user can send SMS messages when off the grid, making it a useful emergency tool for people traveling in remote areas outside cellular networks. 

Apple’s SOS feature for the iPhone 14—which is free for the first two years—has sparked vendors across the smartphone ecosystem to respond. Qualcomm, Samsung, and T-Mobile are all working on their own satellite connectivity systems. Now MediaTek, a Taiwanse smartphone chip maker, is officially jumping on the bandwagon. 

“Two-way satellite communications on smartphones and other devices will usher us into a new era of connectivity and open up new possibilities across many different verticals,” the company said in Friday’s announcement(Opens in a new window). 

MediaTek is enabling the satellite connectivity through the company’s newly announced MT6825 chipset, which can be integrated into any 4G or 5G smartphone. “To provide a seamless experience, MT6825 allows devices to automatically receive messages from satellites, unlike competitive solutions that require users to manually check for messages,” the company added. “The chipset has low system requirements, is very power efficient to provide greater battery life, and comes in a highly integrated design that helps accelerate time to market.”

At MWC, MediaTek also plans on previewing its work to build next-generation satellite connectivity.  This involves developing a more advanced chipset that can support higher bandwidth for navigation and real-time communication. 

In the meantime, Bullitt says the Motorola Defy 2 smartphone is slated to go on sale in the second quarter starting at $599. The Motorola Defy Satellite Link will cost $99 for the device only and arrive in April. Both products will be shown at MWC, alongside the Cat S75 rugged smartphone, which is targeting markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.