/sci/ - Science & Math

Qualcomm ends partnership for connecting Android phones to Iridium satellites,
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https://spacenews.com/qualcomm-ends-partnership-for-connecting-android-phones-to-iridium-satellites/
> TAMPA, Fla. — Semiconductor giant Qualcomm is scrapping plans to provide the technology Android smartphones would need to directly connect to Iridium’s satellites when they can’t reach a cell tower.
> Despite successfully developing and demonstrating a chip enabling everyday phones to connect with satellites for SOS, texts, and other low-bandwidth messaging services, Iridium announced Nov. 9 that no smartphone makers have included Qualcomm’s enabling technology in their devices.
> Price was likely a contributing factor, according to William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma.
> “Qualcomm conveyed to us that even though the Iridium service was functional and available for smartphone manufacturers to incorporate in their phones, the smartphone manufacturers did not have a ‘line of sight on the monetization models’,” he said in a note to investors.
> “This implies that smartphone manufacturers were concerned about the economics and were objecting to the price Qualcomm was charging.”
> SpaceX and other companies, including startups Lynk Global and AST SpaceMobile, are developing satellites that would connect to smartphones already in circulation via partnerships with mobile operators and the standards they use.