Skylo’s leadership role and time to market advantage recognised amid worldwide regulatory uncertainty of competing approaches

Skylo announces key partnerships across Asia amid growing commercial availability worldwide and a faster time to market for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). Skylo, which earlier this year won the GLOMO award for the best Non-Terrestrial Network at MWC Barcelona for the second year in a row, has now commercially activated nearly 7 million devices. Skylo is the world’s largest mobile network operator in terms of geographic coverage, now spanning 37 countries with the addition of Iceland this month. Skylo is currently routing Satellite SOS messages from consumers needing emergency services nearly every other day, showcasing the real impact these services are having in subscribers’ lives.

An upcoming global report by Analysys Mason, “MNOs and OEMs Need to Adopt Satellite D2D Now,” highlights satellite Direct-to-Device (D2D) as a strategic imperative for MNOs and OEMs and recognizes Skylo for offering the “most stable and reliable service.” It noted that competing solutions still suffer from “significant availability gaps” and detailed the regulatory challenges they face wherein “each country must issue specific licenses for space-based use of terrestrial spectrum, and each individual operator must navigate complex coordination to avoid interference with ground-based services. These constraints can delay deployments and limit scalability.” Skylo’s differentiated approach utilizes existing, globally allocated frequency bands that are already in place allowing for expansive, commercially available service today. OEMs, in particular, should note “the trade-offs in terms of interference, regulatory complexity, device compatibility, technology, and time to market” with competing approaches. Skylo yields “a head start in service availability, allowing operators to move early with emergency and messaging services while building user trust and brand value.” The full report will be available on the Analysis Mason website on Wednesday.

“As demand for resilient, ubiquitous connectivity continues to grow, Asia is a natural next step as a focus for Skylo—home to technology powerhouses shaping the future of connected experiences,” says Parthsarathi Trivedi, CEO and co-founder of Skylo. “Our standards-based approach, which leverages existing MSS spectrum, allows MNOs and device manufacturers to quickly come to market with commercially available satellite services that are saving lives without requiring MNOs to wait on additional regulatory approval. By enabling devices to stay connected wherever they are, we’re helping power the next generation of digital transformation.”

Key milestones in Asia as OEMs adopt Skylo’s approach for satellite connectivity:

Samsung Semiconductor

Following more than a year of joint research and collaboration, Skylo and Samsung were able to certify the Exynos Modem 5400 in mid 2024, unlocking satellite D2D connectivity to high-volume flagship Android smartphones on Skylo’s network. Today, we are excited to announce the certification of the Exynos 2500 mobile processor, offering better energy efficiency and higher performance. “Samsung’s partnership with Skylo is built upon 3GPP NTN standards to unlock connectivity everywhere. Through our collaboration on the Samsung Exynos Modem 5400 and the Exynos 2500 mobile processor, mainstream devices worldwide will now have the underlying technology to connect to satellites wherever cellular networks are unavailable, ushering in a new era of ubiquitous connectivity,” said Hui Won Je, VP of Modem Development Team at Samsung Electronics.

OPPO

Skylo is excited to announce a new partnership with OPPO, the global smart device manufacturer with a strong presence in APAC, Europe, India, the Middle East and LATAM. The two companies are working closely to provide OPPO devices that can help MNOs test the Skylo service as an extension of their existing terrestrial network. “OPPO is an innovation-driven brand, and our partnership with Skylo unlocks the next generation of NTN standards-based satellite connectivity for smartphones,” said Yang Xia, Head of Global Strategic Partnership and Carrier Management, OPPO.

Tecno (a brand of Transsion) & Mlink

Skylo is excited to announce a partnership with Tecno (a brand of Transsion) and Mlink for NTN capable smartphones. Tecno is developing devices with the Mlink MS210 chipset that will be able to support E-SOS and SMS over Skylo’s NTN service. “The Mlink MS210 chipset is Skylo certified, and is optimized for mainstream consumer smartphones. We are excited to support the upcoming Tecno launch,” said Zhiping An, Co-Founder, Mlink.

HARMAN Automotive satellite connectivity

Skylo’s work with HARMAN, a Samsung company, showcases enhanced automotive emergency services, including bidirectional emergency messaging directly from the HARMAN Ready Connect telematics control unit (TCU) which will now be able to send emergency alerts and receive real-time updates when out of cellular coverage. “HARMAN Ready Connect is the world’s first TCU product to showcase Skylo’s NTN connectivity with the Qualcomm SA522M/525M chipset in an all-in-one integrated TCU form factor. We are excited to partner with Skylo to enable ubiquitous automotive connectivity using next generation satellite-based technology on a global scale,” said Suman Sehra, Global VP, Connectivity Portfolio Management, HARMAN International.

LG Electronics

Skylo has partnered with LG to bring scale, reliability, and ease of integration to the automotive industry for safety, diagnostics, and emergency services. “At the 5G Automotive Association event in Paris last month, we worked with Skylo to demonstrate AI-based voice recognition combined with satellite connectivity to showcase the next generation of emergency response services for the automotive segment,” said Sung-Ryong Hong, Research Fellow, LG Electronics.

China Device Ecosystem

Skylo is pleased to announce the availability of its NTN service to Multibyte customers in Skylo-covered regions, supported by the Fuzhou IoT OTT messaging platform for P2P messaging. “Multibyte is looking forward to enabling China OEMs and other customers with a global solution combining cellular and Skylo NTN services,” said Jim Yang, Director of Multibyte. “Fuzhou IoT is working closely with China OEMs and Multibyte to enable out-of-the-box NTN-based messaging for smartphones and other cellular devices. We are proud to announce that Blackview, our first customer, is launching their Skylo NTN-enabled ruggedized smartphones for the European market in the coming quarter,” said Geng Yan, Director of Fuzhou IoT.

What’s next?

Skylo is committed to enabling reliable satellite connectivity across the globe. With a global satellite network built for scale, Skylo is uniquely positioned to meet the world’s demand for always-on connectivity. As industries from agriculture, automotive, and consumer devices increasingly rely on always-on connectivity, Skylo’s satellite network provides a seamless, continuous, and contiguous connection.

Skylo will participate in MWC Shanghai for the first time where it will be a featured exhibitor at the GSMA Pavilion, the centerpiece showcase of the event organizer. Pete Saladino, Global Head of Marketing at Skylo, will speak at the session Shaping the Future: AI, 5G and the Technologies of Tomorrow.

Skylo will be on display at MWC Shanghai from June 18 – 20 at location N4 Stand N4.D26

Source: BUSINESS WIRE