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Communication from space: via satellite, it will be possible to make calls from a regular smartphone
In Russia, they are beginning to test technology that allows them to make calls from a regular smartphone and connect to the Internet via satellite. MTS plans to allocate frequencies for its testing in mid-April by the State Commission on Radio Frequencies (SCR). She is also interested in other mobile operators. Such a connection is needed where there are often no cellular networks: on railways and highways, in the Far North, in dachas and in remote settlements, experts say. The service may become widespread by the end of the 2020s, when Russia will have its own low-orbit communications satellites, they add.
Who needs a cellular-satellite connection
In mid–April, the State Emergency Committee plans to allocate the 1980-2010 MHz (Earth–Space communication channel) and 2170-2200 MHz (space-Earth communication channel) radio frequency bands to MTS for testing satellite-smartphone communications, as well as connecting base stations to satellites. This is stated in the materials of the State Emergency Committee, which were reviewed by Izvestia. The tests will be conducted on sections of the 5G hybrid satellite communications system. MTS should inform in the third quarter of 2025 about the need for the frequencies of the new innovative communication system and what regulatory measures should support the launch of the technology in the Russian Federation, as indicated in the annex to the draft decision of the SCRC.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the work of the State Emergency Committee, as well as to the largest Russian mobile operators. MTS declined to comment.
— We believe that the creation of hybrid mobile and satellite communication networks is one of the key priorities for the further development of the industry in the medium term. This will make it possible to effectively solve many problems of providing basic communication services in hard—to-reach places," the Megafon press service noted.
Such communication requires the deployment of a Russian group of low—orbit satellites to ensure an acceptable speed and level of service, as well as the development of standards for this type of communication, they noted.
— The topic of hybrid satellite-cellular technologies is certainly interesting to us, and T2 is closely monitoring their development. They allow us to expand the user service area where there is no traditional mobile communication," said Daria Kolesnikova, a company representative. — Devices that can work with mobile networks and satellite systems are limited, and the market is just beginning to become saturated with them. According to the communications industry strategy, the level of grouping of low-orbit satellites sufficient for the actual use of the technology will be achieved by 2030.
One of the frequency planning specialists told Izvestia that a year ago MTS had already tried to obtain frequencies for cellular-satellite communications — 1950-1965 MHz (for transmitting data from Earth to satellites, uplink) and 2140-2155 MHz: in some places this range is already used for cellular communications. But from the point of view of both the international telecom community and the Russian authorities, such a band is not very suitable for such purposes, the Izvestia interlocutor claims. For example, because it can interfere with the communications of Russian law enforcement agencies, he explained. In turn, 1980-2010 MHz and 2170-2200 MHz (space – Earth) have already been standardized by the international consortium 3GPP for mobile communications from satellites, this specialist added.
Satellite-cellular communication is extremely important for Russia — it will help solve problems in places where there is often no cellular connection at all, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. We are talking about the Far North and remote areas, as well as suburban villages, roads, railways and other places where the quality of coverage leaves much to be desired. According to Denis Kuskov's forecast, this service will become widespread in the late 2020s - then, according to the government's plans, Russia will have its own groups of low—orbit satellites (Ilon Musk's Starlink analogues), to which terrestrial smartphones can be connected.
How space communication is developing in the world
The creation of hybrid cellular-satellite communication networks is provided for by the strategy for the development of the telecom industry for 2024-2035, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation in 2023. Connecting remote and sparsely populated territories to satellite Internet opens up a market for millions of new fast Internet users — by 2035, the global broadband access market will grow by 28% to $292 billion per year, the draft document said.
The first-generation personal voice space communication networks (Globalstar, Iridium, Thuraya) have shown that an expensive and bulky satellite phone is a serious barrier to the development of the service, says Leonid Konik, partner at ComNews Research. Therefore, the idea of shorting the satellite signal to a standard smartphone, the number of which in the world by 2025 exceeded 7 billion units, is seen by many as an effective way to multiply the army of users of telecom services from space, he believes.
— Technically, there are three ways to connect a satellite and a smartphone. Firstly, this can be done on the frequencies available to satellite groupings such as Globalstar or Iridium. In particular, Apple followed this path, paying Globalstar $1.1 billion in November 2024 to create a new satellite constellation that will communicate with smartphones, allocating 85% of its capacity to the Apple manufacturer. At the same time, Apple additionally invested $400 million in 20% of the shares of Globalstar LLC, which will act as the owner of the new group, Leonid Konik notes.
The second option is to "marry" a satellite with a smartphone: use the frequencies available to mobile operators for this. American startups Lynk Global and AST SpaceMobile followed this path, followed by Starlink (out of more than 7 thousand). of its satellites in orbit, the direct—to-device (D2D) smartphone service currently supports only about 400), the expert continues. Starlink has partnered with T-Mobile in the United States, AST SpaceMobile with its competitor AT&T, and Lynk Global has reached agreements with a dozen and a half mobile companies around the world, he lists.
According to Leonid Konik, the third option is to rely on the 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) standard, which several years ago became the global developer of 3GPP mobile communications standards. However, major mobile operators from around the world note that in practice, the smartphone owner will receive from a satellite using 5G NTN technology the speed characteristic of a cellular network not of the fifth or even fourth generation, but 3G, he points out.
— Judging by the draft decision of the SCR, MTS will receive frequencies in the standard 5G NTN band n256. It is encouraging that the national frequency regulator in Russia has followed a globally standardized path this time, albeit for research purposes. It remains to be hoped that this path will continue even when issuing such frequencies for the provision of services in commercial mode," Leonid Konik points out.
Smartphones that support cellular-satellite communications are already being produced by manufacturers from the United States and Europe, but so far there is no full—fledged Internet "from space" and there are no calls to them - they can only transmit short messages via satellite, says Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group. Most likely, by the end of the decade they will support full-fledged access to the Network, but whether Russians will be able to use it depends on how Russian satellite groups will develop, the expert concludes.
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