MTN is intensifying its satellite communications investment with the completion of a trial communication made from a mobile device directly through Starlink’s satellite service in Zambia.
According to the mobile provider, the milestone paves the way for a commercial service in the coming weeks, subject to regulatory approval.
The group said its Zambia unit and Starlink have entered a strategic partnership with MTN Zambia, the first African operator to successfully complete field testing of Starlink’s direct-to-cell service.
This trial involved the transmission of a data session (browsing the internet) and a fintech transaction using MTN Zambia’s spectrum and Starlink’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.
In the past, making a call using satellites required large, expensive and clunky devices known as “satellite phones”. Technology has since evolved and such services are now more accessible.
A year ago, MTN carried out a successful technical trial of “Africa’s first satellite-to-mobile-device phone call” North West province, in partnership with Lynk Global.
Covering gaps in its network is the biggest strategic value MTN sees in satellites.
In recent years LEO satellites have grown in favour as a way to plug these gaps, with Starlink being the best-known such service. The main reason for the growth in LEO satellite use is the cost. Transporting equipment into space is now much cheaper than it was decades ago, in part because space rockets are now reusable — as demonstrated by SpaceX.
Plugging gaps through the likes of Starlink reduces the need for MTN and others to spend on capital-intensive cellphone tower and fibre infrastructure in sparsely populated areas.
In terms of connectivity, the two disadvantages with traditional satellite technology have to do with latency (the time it takes for signals to reach their destination) and limited bandwidth (the amount of data that can travel through a signal). Fibre and mobile are therefore seen as superior forms of access.
Low-altitude satellites improve on this, offering faster speeds, mainly because they are closer to the ground. By launching many such satellites into the sky, creating a constellation, operators have been able to cover the main challenges associated with the technology. Thanks to these advances, operators predict that some functions of ground base stations and cellphone towers will be taken into the sky.
This is at the heart of what MTN has done with the most recent trial.
Globally, there is a move by smartphone manufacturers to enable consumer devices to communicate directly with satellites. Apple has had this capability for emergency calls on its iPhone line of smartphones since 2022 with the introduction of the iPhone 14.
Starlink is working to ensure that its technology works with a wide range of devices. Its technology currently works with existing LTE/4G-compatible devices “wherever there is a clear view of the sky, enabling seamless connectivity in some of the most remote locations”.
MTN Zambia worked with that country’s ministry of technology and science and the regulator, the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (Zicta), on the trial.
LEO satellites typically orbit Earth at altitudes of between 160km and 2,000km, meaning orbital periods are between 90 minutes and a few hours.
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