Satellite player Skylo Technologies completed testing and certification of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X80 5G modem-RF system to support two-way peer-to-peer text messaging, location sharing and SOS notifications on smartphones.

Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon X80 5G modem-RF system at MWC Barcelona 2024 in February. In addition to NTN, it is also targeting 5G-Advanced technology with the chip.

Francesco Grilli, VP of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, stated the certification of the Snapdragon X80 5G modem-RF system “is an impressive moment for cellular connectivity”.

It has been a busy week for the satellite-to-device sector.

Skylo Technologies and Qualcomm’s announcement yesterday (12 September) coincided with AST SpaceMobile’s launch of its first five satellites to provide broadband service to mobile phones.

T-Mobile US announced on 11 September it completed a trial for an emergency alert service using SpaceX-owned Starlink satellites.