Satellite-to-phone company Lynk Global signed an agreement with mobile service wholesaler BICS to enable operators to provide coverage in remote areas.

The planned coverage areas include North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Southeast Asia and some rural areas of Africa.

Lynk Global and BICS cited GSMA research which calculated 6 per cent of the world’s population lived within a digital divide in 2021, which means around 450 million people are locked out of communications.

BICS provides mobile data services to hundreds of MNOs globally and will use its network to connect Lynk Global’s satellite constellation with operators.

Lynk Global’s technology allows standard roaming partner integration without any hardware or software changes to operators’ networks.

The company plans to commercially launch its services this year by connecting to existing mobile devices. It launched its sixth satellite in April, the first covered by a US Federal Communications Commission operating licence which will enable it to provide global coverage.