The company revealed that the Snapdragon satellite will provide global connectivity using mobile messaging from around the world.

At CES 2023, Qualcomm Technologies unveiled the world’s first two-way satellite messaging solution for high-end smartphones, called Napdragon Satellite. The company revealed that the Snapdragon satellite will provide global connectivity using mobile messaging from around the world, starting with devices based on the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform.

The latest two-way messaging service is based on the Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF system and is currently supported by the Iridium satellite constellation. The Snapdragon Satellite enables OEMs and other service products to provide services worldwide.

Speaking of pressing news, the Snapdragon satellite is designed to power the next generation of smartphones launching in select regions from the second half of this year.

Durga Malladi, Senior Vice president and General Manager, Cellular Modems and Infrastructure, at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. said, “Kicking off in premium smartphones later this year, this new addition to our Snapdragon platform strongly positions us to enable satellite communication capabilities and service offerings across multiple device categories.”

In terms of connectivity, Snapdragon Satellite can be extended to other devices such as tablets, cars, laptops, and the Internet of Things. In particular, the satellite systems we are developing to support 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) as NTN satellite infrastructure and constellations are readily available.