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Kuo: iPhone 13 to Feature LEO Satellite Communications to Make Calls and Texts Without Cellular Coverage

cmaier said:
Pretty sure this is all just about support for the ground frequency for LTE/5G communications, and has nothing to do with reaching a LEO satellite.
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It’s fun to speculate, but it doesn’t make much sense to add satcom to iPhone, and that doesn’t seem to be what the Qualcomm deal is about.

https://investors.globalstar.com/ne...ails/globalstars-band-n53-qualcomms-x65-modem
"Qualcomm's support of Band n53 represents a significant milestone in our efforts to commercialize our spectrum in the US and all other countries where we have or expect to obtain terrestrial authority."
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Maybe Globalstar isn’t the provider here, but then it makes even less sense…
 
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Fingerprint Reader for iPhone 13 ???

We really need it back, my kid keeps hacking my wife's Face ID. He grabs her phone and put it IN front of her face when she is not paying attention and he gets access then he gets online stuff in the same way.

Face ID is so insecure and it never works at night or with the facemask.

I believe that Apple can have both on the same phone
 
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Yy
SVTmaniac said:
All you have to do is plug this 8ft antenna into the lightning port and you're set
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Actually you’re on to something.
when I switched my phone from the sprint CDMA chip to the T-Mobile Sprint gsm I went from two bars to no signal.
if Apple actually used the power cord as an antenna that could solve the problem for now.
 
From the authors bio: “Based in Hertfordshire, England, Hartley is keenly interested in history and creative writing.”

So skipping the creative part and doing just a but of googling it basically looks like Quallcom might provide Apple with an enhanced X60 chipset that includes support for the n53 5G band which would otherwise only be part of the X65.. Has nothing to do with LEO!

Globalstar’s Band n53 in Qualcomm’s X65 Modem - Globalstar, Inc.

Qualcomm to Include Band N53 in New 5G Flagship Modem COVINGTON, La. --(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2021-- Globalstar, Inc. (NYSE American: GSAT) (“Globalstar” or the “Company”) today announced that Qualcomm Inc. has included Globalstar's Band n53 in its new 5G X65 modem.
investors.globalstar.com investors.globalstar.com
 
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w5jck said:
I call total BS on this guess/prediction. LEOs are in a very low orbit and will only be in range for earth communications at any given point for a few minutes each pass, so perhaps 3 to 5 minutes if you are lucky. It would require a swarm of LEOs and probably a much bigger antenna, as in much bigger than the iPhone itself. I'm an Extra Class licensed amateur radio operator (ham) who has monitored several LEOs as they pass by, including the International Space Station. This simply cannot be done with an iPhone and the current state of technology built into them. Even with the proper equipment, it requires a lot of knowledge and a well placed antenna. Total bleeping BS!!! There is a reason we use GEOs (geostationary satellites at 36,000 km altitude). You have to get that far away to keep the satellite over a specific location on earth. A LEO orbits the earth at less than 1,000 km, and makes another complete orbit about every 1.5 hours (90 minutes). No way this will work today....
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I believe you are spot on…. No way this is true
 
aajeevlin said:
Iridium deployment of the new satellite fleet was completed almost two years ago now.
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Really? I just last year got my 'kit' celebrating the end of Iridium Flashes. (Or was it the year before. I seem to have been able to expunge most of 2020 from my memory) I got the t-shirt, some stickers, and a Mule drink mug too.

I loved seeing those flashes. One night, I walked out the door, looked int he general area where they usually happen, saw a slight blip heading north, and it flashed the brightest flash I had ever seen. I was so surprised, and ecstatic. What an opportunity to catch one, and I wasn't waiting for it either.

I was bummed they stopped the flashes, but understand that it did likely really piss of astronomers, like Elon Musk has been doing with his first few batches of his satellites. (Which I did catch a train of them heading north east one night this past winder. That was in strange sight, watching a line of bright dots heading in the same direction. Wish I could have gotten a picture)
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
Really? I just last year got my 'kit' celebrating the end of Iridium Flashes. (Or was it the year before. I seem to have been able to expunge most of 2020 from my memory) I got the t-shirt, some stickers, and a Mule drink mug too.

I loved seeing those flashes. One night, I walked out the door, looked int he general area where they usually happen, saw a slight blip heading north, and it flashed the brightest flash I had ever seen. I was so surprised, and ecstatic. What an opportunity to catch one, and I wasn't waiting for it either.

I was bummed they stopped the flashes, but understand that it did likely really piss of astronomers, like Elon Musk has been doing with his first few batches of his satellites. (Which I did catch a train of them heading north east one night this past winder. That was in strange sight, watching a line of bright dots heading in the same direction. Wish I could have gotten a picture)
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Okay just verified it looks like the last launch is Nov 01, 2019. So it's almost two year, the follow pages are super useful if you want to check for launches and such:
space.skyrocket.de

Iridium-NEXT

Iridium Communications Inc. announced in June 2010 its comprehensive plan for funding, building and deploying its next-generation satellite constel...
space.skyrocket.de space.skyrocket.de
 
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aajeevlin said:
Okay just verified it looks like the last launch is Nov 01, 2019. So it's almost two year, the follow pages are super useful if you want to check for launches and such:
space.skyrocket.de

Iridium-NEXT

Iridium Communications Inc. announced in June 2010 its comprehensive plan for funding, building and deploying its next-generation satellite constel...
space.skyrocket.de space.skyrocket.de
Click to expand...

I guess it was a Freudian slip. I forgot all of last year. I mean, who wouldn't, but... I will still miss the Iridium Flashes, and refuse to delete the app that tracks(ed) them.
 
w5jck said:
I call total BS on this guess/prediction. LEOs are in a very low orbit and will only be in range for earth communications at any given point for a few minutes each pass, so perhaps 3 to 5 minutes if you are lucky. It would require a swarm of LEOs and probably a much bigger antenna, as in much bigger than the iPhone itself. I'm an Extra Class licensed amateur radio operator (ham) who has monitored several LEOs as they pass by, including the International Space Station. This simply cannot be done with an iPhone and the current state of technology built into them. Even with the proper equipment, it requires a lot of knowledge and a well placed antenna. Total bleeping BS!!! There is a reason we use GEOs (geostationary satellites at 36,000 km altitude). You have to get that far away to keep the satellite over a specific location on earth. A LEO orbits the earth at less than 1,000 km, and makes another complete orbit about every 1.5 hours (90 minutes). No way this will work today....
Click to expand...
A few minutes for each pass? Then how is StarLink providing it so effectively with LEO sats, eh?
 
CWallace said:
Globalstar uses a constellation of LEO satellites along with ground-based gateways (all using CDMA) so the iPhone would not need the power to send/receive to GEO. It might not even need to reach LEO if it can connect to a terrestrial gateway which would then do the connection to/from LEO.

As for pricing, for existing GS-compatible phones looks like it starts at USD17 a month.
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This is intriguing. I'd definitely pay an extra $17/month if it meant I *never* had to worry about being in range again.
 
Wollombi said:
A few minutes for each pass? Then how is StarLink providing it so effectively with LEO sats, eh?
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It *had* bad gaps in coverage, meaning really really slow overall throughput over 24 hours.. Obviously as they keep pumping them into orbit the coverage will get better, and HAS gotten better as now it's open to all to subscribe. Latency should go down, and the bandwidth should be much higher.

Isn't the pass going more like 50 minutes, maybe as long as 90 minutes?
 
gsurf123 said:
No one should ever use a phone as a safety net when off the beaten path in nature. Nothing more annoying that some jackass talking on the phone in a national park. I'm there to get away from that and not to use it as a safety blanket to phone for help.
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So, you're saying you want to be the next Aron Ralston? I'd rather have the ability and never need to use it, then to have to cut my own hand off with a dull pocket knife because I had no way to call for help.
 
UK-MacAddict said:
Indeed, I remember my dad forgetting to put it back down at the car wash and it snapped like a twig lol.
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Can't remember what car it was, but we had one that seemed to die with regularity. (I think it was a Toyota?)

We finally just gave up, and went without. I think people were selling 'conversion kits' to replace the retractable antennas with solid masts. Old trumps new...
 
The 300 lb elephant in the room is -- what about ATSC 3.0?

Home - ATSC : NextGen TV

The Advanced Television Systems Committee, Inc., is an international, non-profit organization developing voluntary standards and recommended practices for digital terrestrial broadcasting.
www.atsc.org www.atsc.org
 
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