While iphones were able to send emergency messages to satellites for years, the consumer Android phones have lagged behind, with only a few, like the recent Google Pixel 9 Seriesoffering similar services. NOW, Verizon provides its subscribers who have Samsung Galaxy S25 series of the connectivity of phones to satellites. I saw a demonstration in action.
2025 promises to be the year when satellite / telephone connections could develop considerably. Some telephone manufacturers have attempted to secure connectivity for certain models, and carriers have sought to provide service to most of their subscribers by associating satellite companies. While Mobile Does the beta version test its own system with SPACEX Starlink networkVerizon has shown how its subscribers can use Galaxy S25 phones to send messages via satellites.
Verizon first announced its partnership with Skylo To provide its mobile subscribers with satellite connectivity last August. During a recent video call, the people of the Verizon Skylo satellite partner have shown how it will work for normal SMS. They used a SAMSUNG reference device (an internal use telephone only) running an exynos 5400 modem, which is also used in the Google Pixel 9. It was configured so as not to connect to a cellular network, thus simulating the operation of connectivity by satellite only.
They asked for my personal mobile phone number, sent an SMS message and I received it – once taking about 8 seconds, another time taking 27 seconds. I sent a text to an answer, which took 17 seconds to reach their device. Although the reference system has been configured to contact its test server rather than a real emergency answering machine, Skylo has demonstrated routing sms via satellites.
The Skylo service can also connect to emergency stakeholders similar to the way iPhone owners have used Emergency SOS For years. In the demo, I saw how a user would go through a questionnaire sorting the details and the seriousness of his emergency, which would all be treated by a living person and transmitted to the emergency services of his region.
“What we are trying to show here is the experience in terms of production, which we worked very hard to do without seam,” said Pete Saladino, World Skylo Marketing Manager. “And once again, we use existing satellites that are already in the sky.”
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Apple has teamed up and made major financial investments in Globalstar use your constellation satellites to support your iPhone 14,, iPhone 15,, iPhone 16 And iPhone 16th owners with satellite connectivity. Skylo, on the other hand, does not have its own satellites – instead, it is in partnership with half a dozen suppliers, including Viasat, Echostar and Inmarsat, to use their satellites. It works as a kind of signal manager to ensure that, in this case, owners of Samsung Galaxy S25 with Verizon Service are covered by satellite networks already operating in orbit.
Skylo’s already operational satellite network is an advantage for Verizon in the operators’ race for satellite coverage, although it only takes Galaxy S25 phones for the moment. Pixel 9 phones have satellite connectivity Thanks to a separate agreement with Skylo. T-Mobile’s partnership with SpaceX launched a new phase last month when it Launched a beta version to connect subscribers to Starlink satellites (which is also available for users of Verizon and AT&T). With Verizon, AT&T still plans to connect its customers to the Ast Spacemobile satellite network, which received the approval of the US federal communications committee To start testing this arrangement.
The advantage of Skylo is to use satellite networks already deployed, which currently cover 50 million square kilometers of territory (about five times the area of the United States). While the half-dozen Skylo networks suppliers have satellites and different-size capacities, the company aims to offer uniform experience and access, no matter where they connect. For example, they do not want customers to be able to send photos in a part of the globe and not in other under their same service.
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Telephone connectivity to satellite has been limited to SMS messages and small data (as with Apple Imessage), but not even more sophisticated communications beyond. Skylo is working on the delivery of vocal calls which, hopefully, will be available at the end of 2025, although it can arrive in mid-2026.
