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Qualcomm's Snapdragon Satellite Chip Increases Connectivity for Next-Gen Communication

Catwell

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The Snapdragon Satellite will provide global messaging for next-gen Android phones using the weather-resilient L-band spectrum. (Image credit: Qualcomm)

Finally, consumers have access. Hope it doesn’t arrive with a hefty price.

Qualcomm recently announced its Snapdragon Satellite, which promises to provide emergency and SMS messaging for next-gen smartphones, allowing users to connect to others anywhere in the world. The satellite features a system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed specifically for satellite communication systems, aimed to bring broadband connectivity to remote areas and provide low-latency communications in space. The Snapdragon Satellite platform integrates several components, such as the modem, digital signal processor (DSP), and various communication interfaces, allowing for a compact and efficient design for satellite communication devices.

"Robust and reliable connectivity is at the heart of premium experiences. Snapdragon Satellite showcases our history of leadership in enabling global satellite communications and our ability to bring superior innovations to mobile devices at scale," stated Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager at Qualcomm Technologies. "Kicking off in premium smartphones later this year, this new addition to our Snapdragon platform strongly positions us to enable satellite communication capabilities and service offerings across multiple device categories."

The platform uses Iridium's weather-resilient L-band spectrum, which utilizes the 1 to 2 GHz frequency range, is less susceptible to atmospheric interference, and provides more coverage in adverse weather conditions such as heavy rain or snow. Iridium's network provides global coverage for voice and data communication services for various industries, such as maritime, aviation, military and emergency services.

As the ecosystem grows and more devices are integrated with Snapdragon Satellite, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and app developers can offer unique services and differentiate their offerings by taking advantage of satellite connectivity. In the future, Snapdragon Satellite is also planned to support 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) as NTN satellite infrastructure and constellations become available.

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  • in reply to robogary

    Eh, the trend has been towards LEO mainly because of cost, capacity and coverage concerns, but being L-band Iridium, it's basically just shoehorning a satellite phone modem compatible with an existing constellation into the SoC. Iridium pricing is crazy, but I suppose it's there where you might not get any other non-satellite alternatives. It's probably just a knee-jerk reaction to Apple's satellite-based SoS functionality - not intended for ordinary usage in any way but as a safety-of-life slow-messaging channel requiring a clear view of the sky.

    5G-NTN is perhaps more interesting as that's potentially support-able by ordinary 5G-NR chipsets with some software changes. That may provide a step-change in satellite connectivity capability, subject to the limitations of physics (the signals are travelling a long way, so path loss from an antenna that can fit in an ordinary smartphone is probably a constraint). I suspect governments will not be that happy about foreign operators running from satellite ...

    - Gough

  • Technology sounds awesome to use a satellite, I'm assuming geo synchronous.It'd be interesting  to see a description of the power requirements needed to use in a premium phone.