Samsung introduced a new modem chip, the Exynos Modem 5300, which allows cell phones to communicate via satellite connectivity, even in remote areas.
Through the company's official website, besides allowing users to communicate using satellite connectivity, the Exynos Modem 5300 will also receive support for the 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) network.
The presence of this modem chip can be said to be similar to Apple's satellite connectivity feature (Emergency SOS) embedded in the iPhone 14 series.
“Samsung wants to lead and advance a hybrid terrestrial-NTN communications ecosystem around the world, to prepare for the arrival of 6G networks,” said Executive Vice President of Communication Processor Development at Samsung Electronics, Min Goo Kim.
NTN is a communication technology that relies on satellites or devices that are not registered with the internet (mobile non-terrestrial) in order to bring connectivity to areas that are not covered by the internet, such as mountains, deserts, even in the middle of the sea.
It is also important to monitor operations in natural disaster areas, and so on.
To make this happen, Samsung said that it had implemented the standards set by the international standardization body 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).
The established standard is called Release 17. The “Release 17 “ standard is implemented to ensure interoperability (ability to connect to each other) between telecommunications networks, hardware , and software developed by smartphone manufacturers .
The way the NTN works starts with someone sending a message to the satellite. The signal from the message will be received and reflected to the earth station ( ground station ). Then, the message will be sent to the regular cellular network for other users to receive.
The illustration of communication above can be done in two directions. Reported by KompasTekno from GSM Arena , Saturday (25/2/2023), this technology allows users not only to send messages in the form of text, but also in the form of high-resolution photos/videos in the future.
This satellite connectivity technology can certainly be good news for a number of smartphone manufacturers . This capability is also predicted to be widely adopted by various kinds of smartphones in the future.
Samsung revealed that it was developing radio technology with Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) access. The development of this technology is said to be able to shift the smartphone's need for a separate wireless antenna chip inside the smartphone .
Besides Samsung, a well-known chip manufacturer, Qualcomm also introduced a similar feature called “Snapdragon Satellite”. Not just sending emergency messages via SMS, users can send SMS just like using a cellular network.
This feature also relies on the communication services offered by the constellation or Iridium satellite network. Satellites in the Iridium network are used to support communication between Iridium-based devices on Earth.
Even though it has been announced, it is not yet known which device will be the first to use the Exynos Modem 5300.
