Bullitt and MediaTek to launch smartphone with two-way satellite messaging in 2023

Bullitt announced Tuesday that it is collaborating with MediaTek to launch the world’s first smartphone to feature two-way messaging technology via satellite. This unannounced phone will be launched in the first three months of 2023. The smartphone will be manufactured by Bullitt and use MediaTek’s 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) chipset. Unlike Apple’s satellite-based Emergency SOS, this new technology will enable users to seamlessly send messages to other devices connected to regular networks. Bullitt did not disclose the exact regions where these features will be available initially.

bulit Foot Advertising on Tuesday that the smartphone and OTT satellite service will be commercially available in the first three months of 2023. Together with Media Tech Over the past 18 months to develop this technology. Bullitt plans to use direct satellite communications technology with its next generation of 5G smartphones.

It revealed that the smartphone will only switch to the satellite link, if no cellular or Wi-Fi connections are available. Bullitt smartphone users will be able to seamlessly send messages to their saved contacts who are connected to regular cellular networks. The company claims that it can take about 10 seconds to send a message through this service.

The OTT satellite service will include a satellite SOS feature, which will be provided free of charge for the first 12 months from the date of purchase. Bullitt revealed that this offer will apply to purchases made before December 2023.

It was MediaTek open Earlier this year in August, it successfully tested the world’s first 5G NTN smartphone communication technology. At the time, this technology was said to have the potential to bring “ubiquitous connectivity to consumer devices via satellite.”

It simulated contact with a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which orbit at an altitude of 600 km at a speed of 27,000 km/h. The conclusion is that a device with today’s smartphone form factor will be able to support 5G NTN technology.