SpaceX Competitor Lynk Testing 5G Cellphone Service From Space

Lynk, a competitor to the much larger SpaceX, plans to offer an experimental 5G cellular base station aboard a mission in December, working alongside an undisclosed cellular partner. Space.com reports: The experimental payload will launch on Lynk's second commercial satellite, company officials said. "This test will demonstrate the ability to send a 5G signal from space to standard mobile devices on Earth," Lynk officials wrote in late September. The test is a shot across the bow to SpaceX, which has already signed a deal with T-Mobile for cellular service but, unlike Lynk, does not yet have Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval. Lynk received the prized FCC thumbs-up just a few weeks ago. Lynk and SpaceX are jostling for market access to people living in rural areas who lack access to standard internet service. Lynk already tested a satellite-to-phone service link last year, according to Via Satellite, and is ramping up service fast in a bid to keep ahead of the competition. "We are actively testing satellite-direct-to-phone-services in 12 countries on five continents," Dan Dooley, chief commercial officer of Lynk, said in the same company statement. The company's patent allows the orbiting cell tower to link up with standard 5G devices in 55 countries, Lynk says.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.