Verizon has another satellite partner as it looks to fill in the gaps for its Earth-based wireless service. On Wednesday the carrier announced that it has reached a deal with satellite company Skylo to use its network of satellites to provide texting services for Android phones on its network in areas that don’t have its regular cellular connectivity.
The new service will start this fall, with phones in Google’s Pixel 9 series being the first capable devices. Google is similarly using Skylo to provide its Satellite SOS feature, an emergency service designed to connect users to first responders in the event they don’t have a wireless signal so they can message and share location information.
Google is using Skylo to support this feature regardless of wireless carrier, so it’s not a Verizon-exclusive feature.
At some point “early next year” Verizon will expand this capability to “offer the ability to text anywhere via satellite for customers with compatible devices.” Compatible devices, the carrier confirmed to CNET, will include the Pixel 9 line and Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S25 series.
Unlike other satellite services like T-Mobile’s partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink and AT&T and Verizon’s deal with AST SpaceMobile that utilize wireless airwaves already found in existing devices that have been sold for years, the Skylo connection will require the use of a special piece of spectrum known as the “L band.” That seems to limit the capability to just the Pixel 9 line and the upcoming Galaxy S25 series, at least for now.
Samsung usually announces its new line of Galaxy S phones early in the new year and the support for Skylo’s service will give the South Korean tech giant an answer to satellite messaging options touted by Google and Apple.
Apple has included emergency satellite connectivity in its iPhones going back to 2022’s iPhone 14 line through its partnership with satellite provider Globalstar. Its upcoming iOS 18 software will expand the satellite feature to allow you to message anyone over satellites, not just first responders in cases of emergencies.
iPhone users on Verizon’s network will be able to use Apple’s service for messaging in areas where the carrier doesn’t provide a signal.
Verizon says there will be no additional cost for using Skylo’s satellite service and that “capable devices can take advantage of this irrespective of price plan.” It is working on adding support for data connections via satellite “down the road” but did not provide a timeline for that feature.
The carrier says it is also still working with AST SpaceMobile, but notes that “until their satellite array is launched and functional, we wanted to make sure all of our customers with capable devices have the same basic satellite messaging connectivity.”
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