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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellatio... Launched 1998.

• lxgr 3y ago
  Yes, I’ve used it myself :) That’s the type of service these new services are going to be providing in their first phase, just (if all goes well) with unmodified mobile devices. I’d guess we’re some time away from broadband data to unmodified phones, but in the end, it’s just a function of available power per square meter in the downlink, i.e. how many satellites can be launched and how tightly their beams can be focused, and of reflector size in the uplink (since the transmit power of 4G/5G devices is fixed at about 1-2% that of Iridium).
  • piltdownman 3y ago
    Supposedly ASTS SpaceMobile have achieved broadband data to unmodified phones months ago, although they've provided no evidence of such other than a few PR photos and some fairly light-weight tweets from their partners such as AT&T and Vodafone.