1/5/2023 - Written By Caleb Henry
Green bubble texters finally have their rival to Apple and Globalstar. Iridium’s mystery Direct-to-Device (DTD) partner is Qualcomm, and together the companies plan to enable texting and emergency messaging to Android phones starting in the second half of 2023. Qualcomm is a frequent investor and participant in the satellite industry. While admittedly a surprise (speculation pinned Samsung as Iridium’s partner), we view Qualcomm as a strong ally for Iridium as the DTD race heats up. Compared to Apple and Globalstar, Iridium already has a completed constellation of 66 satellites and nine spares – more than double that of Globalstar, and has a robust network of value added resellers accustomed to embedding Iridium chipsets in diverse hardware. We expect more DTD initiatives to emerge throughout 2023, especially those aimed at low-data-rate services like texting. We also expect these new business plans to move faster than regulators do with okaying spectrum applications. What will it look like when these two trends collide?
SOURCE: https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/05/qualcomm-partners-with-iridium-to-bring-satellite-messaging-to-android-phones/