Samsung is heading to space with a satellite-enabled smartphone chip

Samsung announced Thursday that it has developed a system that will allow smartphone users to send data via satellite, intensifying the race between tech companies to connect phones to non-terrestrial networks.

The South Korean consumer electronics giant’s new modem technology will enable two-way messaging, as well as image and video sharing. Data is sent to satellites in low Earth orbit in space and back to ground stations before reaching end users.

Samsung has yet to launch its satellite capabilities. However, the company said it plans to include the technology in its Exynos mobile processors, hinting at a decision to bring the system to its Galaxy smartphones.

Samsung launched its flagship line of Galaxy S23 smartphones this month without satellite connectivity.

The move comes shortly after Apple announced it would launch its iPhone 14 with a feature that lets users alert emergency services by pointing their phone at a satellite in space and choosing from a range of problems they face.

Satellite phones are not yet a commercially mainstream technology. However, device makers are betting on the untapped opportunity to get satellite phones into the hands of people in remote areas that are beyond the reach of terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure.

“With the arrival of Samsung, satellite emergency messaging on high-end smartphones is becoming a default feature,” Ben Wood, principal analyst at CCS Insight, told CNBC.

“It underscores Apple’s massive influence on feature adoption. For new technology like this, where Apple goes, others follow.”

Following the launch of Apple’s iPhone 14 in September, US semiconductor giant Qualcomm signed a deal with satellite communications company Iridium to bring satellite-enabled chips to Android phones. MediaTek, the Taiwanese chipmaker, is set to showcase its own mobile satellite technology at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.

Samsung said its technology meets the standards of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, which means it will “ensure interoperability and scalability between services offered by global telecommunications operators, mobile device manufacturers and chip companies”.

The device will also “eliminate the need for a separate high-powered wireless antenna chip inside smartphones,” Samsung said. Satellite phones have been in the works for decades but have yet to take off as they usually require huge antennas built right into the device.

SHOW: Apple announces emergency SOS via satellite at September event