Google's Pixel 9 is getting a satellite messaging service in North America
Google is using Skylo's non-terrestrial network RAN service to connect to satellite
Will Samsung go into space next?
Google is getting into the space race. Following Apple’s launch of a satellite-based SOS emergency messaging service with the iPhone 14 in 2022, Google announced its new Pixel 9 Android phones, launched this week, can tap into satellite connectivity during a crisis.
But there's a catch.
The free emergency service, which uses Skylo’s radio access network (RAN) system on the ground to connect with Echostar, Viasat, Ligado Networks and TerreStar satellites, will be “limited” to start with, according to Tim Farrar, analyst at TMF Associates.
"Google’s SOS satellite service is absolutely a response to Apple’s satellite messaging service, and I hope they keep copying health and safety features from one another because this will save lives," added Avi Greengart, analyst at Techsponential.
Skylo is launching the service in North America, unlike Apple’s SOS service, which is global, Farrar said. The service connects a Pixel 9 user in peril on a lonely mountain pass — or similarly remote location — with first responders (hopefully before they resort to cannibalism).
Google, like Apple, won’t require users to be on a certain mobile operator in the United States or Canada to use the service, and the companies don't charge for the service, Farrar noted. The scheme is similar to how T-Mobile is planning to introduce its direct-to-device (D2D) with SpaceX later this year. But the analyst questioned how much users would pay for such a satellite service anyway.
He previously said that T-Mobile “will probably pay [SpaceX] similar to how they deal with a roaming partner.” AT&T and Verizon are planning to use AST SpaceMobile for a similar D2D service, but that has barely gotten off the ground yet.
Google uses its latest Tensor 4 chip in the Pixel 9 to connect the earth-bound phones with the satellites. Farrar said he is not sure if or when it will be able to extend such an SOS service to other Android phones, so presumably, it will remain a Pixel 9 service for now.
Skylo uses the 3GPP 5G release 17 non-terrestrial network (NTN) specification to connect 5G phones to satellites via its RAN infrastructure. Skylo has hitherto been connecting IoT devices around the world to satellites, since many agricultural and industrial IoT deployments can’t dependably connect to standard cellular networks.
"We will see more satellite connectivity on smartphones but the solutions are fragmented and can be complicated to roll out globally, Greengart said. "Satellite messaging is part of the later 5G specs, and MediaTek already started supporting it last year. Qualcomm was pushing its own solution that it abandoned, but even if you have a modem that supports it you still need agreements with satellite operators, ground stations, and sometimes the wireless carriers," he added.
Is Samsung next?
“It’ll be interesting to see how Samsung reacts” Farrar noted on a phone call with Fierce.
Samsung said in February 2023 that it will integrate the 5G NTN technology into its Exynos modem. Its S24 Galaxy Android smartphones didn’t support this technology; instead, they focused on consumer artificial intelligence.
Our guess is the technology will likely arrive in the S25.