Samsung forgoes satellite connectivity

Samsung has announced that its Galaxy S23 will not have satellite connectivity capabilities, as was initially predicted by many in the industry.

Peter Kibutu, Advanced Technology Lead for Non-Terrestrial Networks at TTP, a 5G satellite consultancy, has shared insights into why the lack of industry standardisation may be behind Samsung’s decision to forgo satellite connectivity, seeing it take a different approach to competitors such as Apple.

In a comment below, he explains how the 3GPP standards released last year will eventually enable technical advances, such as handsets being able to roam between multiple satellite vendors, that could change Samsung’s mind in future.

If you’d like to speak with Peter about this further please let me know and I’d be happy to put you in touch.

en able to provide compatibility with a single satellite provider, for example, Apple with Globalstar and Qualcomm with Iridium. The 3GPP standards, which were released at the end of last year, will eventually enable handsets to ‘roam’ between multiple satellite providers and deliver ubiquitous high-performance connectivity beyond emergency services. Therefore, we can expect to see some handset manufacturers wait until the infrastructure is based on industry standards, which will be towards the end of the year.”

CT Bureau