- Video streaming remains impractical on D2C networks due to bandwidth and cost constraints
- D2C technology currently supports emergency and IoT messaging, with future potential for growth
- New business models may be needed to make D2C communications profitable for operators, says analyst Joe Madden
While direct-to-cell (D2C) satellite communications were a big topic at the recent Brooklyn 6G Summit, the technology is already here, well before 6G's anticipated 2030 arrival. Apple and Google already offer D2C emergency messaging, and Starlink, T-Mobile and others are anticipated to follow.
D2C satellite communications will be well established when 6G arrives. The 3GPP froze a 5G specification for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) in Release 17 in March 2022, which means that NTN-compatible chips and components should be available now or soon.
SpaceX has reduced the cost of launching satellites, but there is a hard limit to how many satellite swarms can be put in space, Mobile Experts lead analyst Joe Madden noted at the conference. Only the second-generation Starlink satellites, which just started launching this year, can support D2C communications.
Cost limits video
Don't expect to receive video from space anytime soon — at least, not on your phone. Text messages will likely be the most data-heavy communications carried by most satellite constellations, over 4G, 5G or 6G.
Cost is a factor limiting D2C communications to text. D2C rates are more expensive than terrestrial 5G. D2C is $5 to $6 per gigabyte, Madden said, adding, “we’re in the region of 20 to 30 cents today for 5G.” D2C mobile costs are "back to 3G kind of numbers.
In addition to texts, mobile 5G can send other short bursts, such as Internet of Things data. "You can effectively make money that way,” Madden said.
Emergency SOS and IoT messaging, where you wouldn’t send large amounts of data regularly, “could be a significant business.” He noted that during the recent hurricanes Milton and Helene, people used Apple SOS messages to get word out to emergency services, family and friends.
Turning that business into a profit center will require changing the business model. Apple and the operators don’t currently charge for the SOS messaging. We’ll see how that develops over time.
And while video is impractical for mobile D2C, it's practical for fixed wireless. Starlink satellites can deliver fixed wireless from low earth orbit with large panel satellite dishes attached to your house. “You can get about 17 cents per gigabyte using that large panel, so that’s pretty good," Madden said.
He added, "That’s cheap enough that I can use it for my everyday Internet, I can stream a movie for about 4 dollars, so that makes money for the operator."