{"id":19368,"date":"2023-02-20T18:04:15","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T12:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/2023\/02\/20\/two-way-satellite-messaging-technology-explained\/"},"modified":"2023-02-20T18:04:15","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T12:34:15","slug":"two-way-satellite-messaging-technology-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/2023\/02\/20\/two-way-satellite-messaging-technology-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Two-Way Satellite Messaging Technology Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"full-w-img\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" data-m=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.91-cdn.com\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/5G_NTN.png\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload\" data-m=\"true\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.91-cdn.com\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/5G_NTN.png\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/div>\n<p>With all the things modern smartphones can do, it&#8217;s easy to forget that they are phones first and foremost.  The fact that we can call anyone anytime and anywhere is something we take for granted now.  However, we&#8217;ve all come across &#8220;dead zones&#8221; where there is no connectivity.  These places can feel like black holes where you feel alone and cut off from the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<p>For most of us, it&#8217;s thankfully nothing more than a mild annoyance.  However, it can become life-threatening very quickly when you are hiking, driving in a secluded area, on a boat, and so on;  Situations where getting a message to the outside world can mean the difference between life and death.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s where MediaTek&#8217;s new Satellite technology comes in handy.  The semiconductor company is working on chipsets capable of connecting the devices we use on Earth to the satellites that fly above us.<\/p>\n<h2>understanding new technology<\/h2>\n<p>MediaTek&#8217;s new technology will be first used by Bullitt, which will launch the world&#8217;s first mobile devices to include two-way satellite messaging technology.  The 5G smartphone designed by Bullitt will be the first to use MediaTek&#8217;s 3GPP NTN (non-terrestrial network) chipset.  Both companies developed software and service components in parallel to provide satellite messaging services.<\/p>\n<p>To understand why this is so important, we need to understand how mobile phones work.<\/p>\n<h2>how mobile phones work<\/h2>\n<p>When you make a call or send a message, your mobile phone is not directly connected to the recipient.  Instead, your voice or message is converted into a digital signal and sent by radio waves to a nearby cell tower.  The tower then transmits it to the recipient and the same process is repeated at the other end so that your phone receives the signal from the recipient.  This is obviously an oversimplification, but mobile phones normally work like this.<\/p>\n<p>As you might have realized that the cell tower plays an important role in the system and is also the weakest link.  This is the reason why mobile phone services stop in remote areas or after natural calamities.  Physical infrastructure is critical to keep mobile phone communications running.<\/p>\n<p>With satellites, not so.  Unlike cell towers, satellites are ubiquitous because they are up in orbit.  This means that the user only needs to have open skies above them and they can stay connected.<\/p>\n<h2>how the system works<\/h2>\n<p>Phones with this technology will be able to intelligently and automatically switch to a satellite link when no cellular or Wi-Fi connection is available.  The service will also integrate with the user&#8217;s existing contacts to make the entire process seamless and simple.  It takes about 10 seconds to initially connect to a satellite and send a message.<\/p>\n<p>The system uses 5G-NTN as defined in 3GPP R17.  It includes two connectivity standards: IoT-NTN and NR-NTN.  IoT-NTN is designed for low data rate connections.  This would include communication channels such as messaging or non-real-time data.  As such, it would be best used by agriculture, forestry, transport, logistics and other industries that operate in remote areas.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, NR-NTN provides long distance communication with data rates that allow users to make calls and use apps.  The idea is to provide global service to remote areas such as mountains, deserts, tundra and oceans.  It will enable services such as navigation and real-time communication.<\/p>\n<p>With NR-NTN, there is a stipulation that it does not impose any additional hardware or operational burden on end users.  This means that it should work seamlessly across mainstream large scale devices such as smartphones.<\/p>\n<p>MediaTek is the main driver of 5G NR-NTN technology based on 3GPP open standards.  As such, it is leading the industry with first-to-market achievements in 5G NR-NTN open solutions.  Last August, MediaTek announced that it collaborated with Rohde &#038; Schwarz and ITRI to demonstrate the world&#8217;s first successful test of 5G NR-NTN connectivity.  With this, MediaTek has demonstrated for the first time in the world the ability to support satellite communications with commercial 5G smartphone hardware.<\/p>\n<p>This technology will continue in MWC 2023.  During the event, MediaTek will demonstrate another industry-first by establishing a live 5G NR-NTN connection through a prototype smartphone.<\/p>\n<h2>Main advantages of this technique<\/h2>\n<p>The fact that this technology can work without the need for cell towers means that users will always be connected.  The lack of cell towers may be due to the remoteness of the location, or damage caused by natural disasters.  So if you ever find yourself in an emergency, you can still use your phone to call for help.  It can also be useful in areas covered by a terrestrial tower, in case of natural disasters, during which many working cell towers may be shut down due to the large volume of emergency calls being made at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>To be fair, satellite phones have been in use for quite some time;  These specialized communication devices are used by people who venture to places where mobile connectivity is questionable.  This includes adventurers, support workers, journalists, critical responders, and more.  Unfortunately, the technology has been prohibitive and inaccessible to ordinary consumers due to cost.  Going forward, though, MediaTek is making it possible to make satellite connectivity more accessible to the mainstream consumer, and something you can take with you wherever you go.<\/p>\n<h2>When can we expect the technology to be available?<\/h2>\n<p>Thankfully, people around the world won&#8217;t have to wait long to see this technology in action.  Bullitt&#8217;s first devices and satellite service will be commercially available in the first quarter of this year, making them the first to introduce MediaTek&#8217;s two-way satellite messaging technology.  Competition from companies such as Qualcomm and Apple ensures further democratization of NTN technology as consumers will have plenty of options to choose from in the near future.<\/p>\n<p>With this technology, the smartphones of the future look set to become real lifesavers during emergencies.  It also adds a great deal of comfort and peace of mind with the knowledge that you are never too far away from help and support.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"\/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With all the things modern smartphones can do, it&#8217;s easy to forget that they are phones first and foremost. The fact that we can call anyone anytime and anywhere is something we take for granted now. However, we&#8217;ve all come across &#8220;dead zones&#8221; where there is no connectivity. These places can feel like black holes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[863,964,963,965,962],"class_list":["post-19368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate","tag-explained","tag-messaging","tag-satellite","tag-technology","tag-twoway"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicsheds.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}