Qualcomm ends its satellite-to-phone partnership with Iridium

Semiconductor giant Qualcomm has ended its partnership with the satellite communications firm Iridium, a company that provides satellite-to-phone services, according to a recent announcement.

Iridium told CNBC that Qualcomm successfully developed and demonstrated the technology; however, smartphone makers have not included it in their devices. Further, Qualcomm stated to CNBC that OEMs have said they prefer standards-based solutions for satellite-to-phone connectivity.

“We expect to continue to collaborate with Iridium on standards-based solutions while discontinuing efforts on the proprietary solution that was introduced earlier this year,” Qualcomm said.

Proprietary solutions are like what Apple uses over another satellite company such as Iridium, which requires payment for access to its satellites. It seems like manufacturers didn’t like this as they would be giving Qualcomm complete control of these services. A standard-based solution, which MediaTek and Samsung are working on, puts more control in the hands of the smartphone maker given it uses a non-terrestrial network within the mobile chipset.

Qualcomm announced plans to take on Apple’s Emergency SOS with Snapdragon Satellite back at the beginning of the year. The company originally said that this technology would be available in select markets in the second half of the year, but that’s clearly not going to happen anymore.

Google said it launched Android 14 with satellite services in mind. Further, a dive into the Messages app revealed that the company is preparing to add support for satellite connectivity. Alongside Google, Samsung and MediaTek are also working on satellite services.

Source: CNBC