Space Commerce

Lynk to Launch World’s First Cellular 5G From Space Payload

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
Lynk
September 30, 2022
Filed under ,
Lynk to Launch World’s First Cellular 5G From Space Payload
Lynk
Lynk

Lynk Global, Inc. (Lynk), the world’s leading satellite-direct-to-standard-phone telecoms company, will fly the world’s first 5G cellular base station in space in a first-of-its-kind demonstration.

This test will demonstrate the ability to send a 5G signal from space to standard mobile devices on Earth. The test has been funded by an undisclosed partner.

Charles Miller, CEO and co-founder of Lynk, said “Lynk’s fast development cycle, combined with our unique patented and proven technology to connect satellites in orbit to standard mobile phones on Earth, allows Lynk to quickly build and test the world’s most advanced cellular technologies in space.”

Lynk is the only company in the world to demonstrate satellite-direct-to-standard-mobile-phone technology. Earlier this month, Lynk received the world’s first satellite-direct-to-phone commercial license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Lynk has also patented the ability to connect to existing standard 5G devices on Earth, with no change to the 5G device, in 55 countries. The 5G payload will launch in December 2022 on Lynk’s second commercial satellite.

Dan Dooley, chief commercial officer of Lynk, said, “Lynk is years ahead of everyone else in enabling MNOs to extend their cellular networks to 100% of their geographic territories. We will be years ahead in 5G as well. We are actively testing satellite-direct-to-phone-services in 12 countries on five continents. Recent events have only accelerated Lynk’s progress not only technically as well as commercially with MNO partners.”

Lynk has adopted design and development processes that enable the company to rapidly incorporate new technologies, such as this experimental 5G payload, in addition to the existing GSM and LTE base stations for the MNOs that are under contract. Lynk’s software-designed radios can switch between 2G and 4G for our MNO partners and in the future, will be able to switch to 5G when our MNO partners and other customers prefer that over 4G.

About Lynk

In 2022, Lynk will provide the world’s first commercial satellite direct-to-mobile-phone service, enabling affordable, reliable mobile phone connectivity to everyone, everywhere across the globe. Founded in 2017 by veteran space and telecoms leaders, the Lynk team has invented, patented, and proved that a satellite could serve as a “cell tower in space” and connect directly to a standard mobile phone on Earth – a technological feat verified by independent third parties. Today, Lynk is the only company in the world to have successfully sent text messages to and from space via unmodified mobile devices, and the only company in the world licensed to provide commercial satellite-direct-to-standard-phone services. By partnering with Lynk via a simple roaming agreement, a mobile network operator opens the door to untapped markets, gives subscribers peace of mind with ubiquitous connectivity, and provides a pathway to economic prosperity for billions of the world’s citizens. For more information, visit www.lynk.world or connect to us on twitter @LynkTheWorld

Contacts
Tony DeTora
tdetora@lynk.world
+1 (703) 203-8597

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.