During this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC), which runs from February 27th to March 2nd, MediaTek plans to showcase its new technology that can put two-way satellite communications on smartphones. Motorola is providing some of the test equipment used to verify the functionality of the semiconductor’s product. The occasion will see the introduction of three new products from the company: the defy 2, the CAT S75, and a Bluetooth device powered by MediaTek.
MediaTek’s New Chip Uses Satellites
The business has developed a separate chipset that can be installed in any 4G or 5G phone as an answer to Qualcomm and Apple’s satellite technology. Because it is based on the 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network standard, rather than Qualcomm’s or Apple’s proprietary technology, it is compatible with any network that supports that standard. MediaTek collaborated with Bullitt to include Bullitt’s Satellite Connect service into the aforementioned Motorola devices, allowing for satellite-based text messaging.
MediaTek’s processors also communicate with satellites in Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit, as opposed to those in Low Earth Orbit. The chipmaker claims that its technology allows for both emergency SOS SMS and complete two-way texting, similar to Apple’s. This implies that it can not only send messages through a satellite link but also receive them. While it launched Apple’s satellite technology, iPhone 14 still requires a cellular network to receive texts. Conversely, users of handsets powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite technology will have to manually refresh their screens to get new notifications. The second quarter of this year will see the debut of the Motorola defy 2 smartphones and the defy Bluetooth attachment in North America, South America, and Canada.
