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Cellular satellite test successfully beams 4G data from space to a regular phone | Engadget

https://www.engadget.com/cellular-satellite-test-successfully-beams-4g-data-from-space-to-a-regular-phone-200318927.html

AST SpaceMobile recently completed a series of tests where its engineers downloaded data at 10Mbps from an off-the-shelf smartphone connected to a satellite in low-Earth orbit..

Cellular satellite test successfully beams 4G data from space to a regular phone | Engadget

6 comments

sudo22

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Maaaaaan this would be great for living out in the sticks.

beejjorgensen

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Right now I have an InReach for when I'm in the middle of nowhere, but having straight up phone service would be awesome.

Redex68

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The most impressive part is that the satellite is able to receive the phone's signal. I'm really surprised by that.

Phones receiving satellite signals is nothing new, GPS works like that, but two way communication is much harder since phones are much less powerful.

I guess it has to do with how large the antennae are.

Quereller

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Now imagine what current generation spy satellites can already do.

bryan

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Wow it’s “693 square feet in size” and they need to launch another 168. Also it is already ruining some astronomical studies because of streaking… but hey I need to TikTok while I’m hiking in the middle of Yellowstone so whatever! 😅

green_dragon

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I was doing this analog with the International Space Station in 1992. During the horizon overpass I was able to establish voice contact via a 2 watt handheld transmitter. This was a two way contact with an ham radio operator on the ISS. The voice bandwidth far exceeds the 4g bandwidth. I'm not sure exactly how this is new being that it was a one way contact. It's basically line of sight communications which is exactly what the higher frequencies are intended for; nothing in their path. Still cool nonetheless. I wonder how they received the FCC okay for it though.