Samsung Galaxy S25 comes with satellite messaging but not everyone can use it

Samsung Galaxy S25 phones all come with an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and it even supports satellite messaging. The manufacturer never spoke about the feature due to a limitation: it isn't accessible to everyone.

The reason is that Samsung will allow carriers to manage service agreements with satellite operators. Presently, there is only one satellite operator in the open market: Skylo, which only has a partnership with Verizon in the United States.

Qualcomm collaborated with satellite operator Iridium; however, Samsung chose to bypass them and requested that the chip maker develop only a modem to reduce service costs.

Christian Frhr von der Ropp, an Independent Satellite & Telecoms Consultant, noted that Skylo acts as a "de facto monopolist" in the industry. The company leases L-band and S-band transponders on eight geostationary satellites positioned over America and Europe from Viasat, Ligado Networks, and TerreStar to facilitate 5G NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network).

Essentially, every carrier needs to sign a deal with Skylo for satellite messaging, if it's to offer the option for Samsung Galaxy S25 users. On the other hand, Apple established a direct agreement with Globalstar at the time of the iPhone 14's release, which is why Apple users can access the Emergency SOS service (where available).

We anticipate that carriers will begin offering partnerships with satellite providers shortly, provided that telecom companies perceive it as a marketable advantage. If not, this feature may ultimately go untapped.

Source | Via