Russians will be able to make calls from a mobile via satellite

In mid–April, the State Radio Frequency Commission (GCRF) plans to allocate radio frequency bands to MTS for testing satellite-smartphone communications, as well as connecting base stations to satellites. This is stated in the materials of the State Emergency Committee, which were reviewed by Izvestia.

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The tests will be conducted on sections of the 5G hybrid satellite communications system. MTS' competitors are also interested in the technology.

"We believe that the creation of hybrid mobile and satellite communications networks is one of the key priorities for the further development of the industry in the medium term. This will make it possible to effectively solve many problems of providing basic communication services in hard—to-reach places," the Megafon press service noted.

Satellite-cellular communication is extremely important for Russia — it will help solve problems in places where there is often no cellular connection at all, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. We are talking about the Far North and remote areas, as well as suburban villages, roads, railways, and other places where the quality of coverage leaves much to be desired.

According to Denis Kuskov's forecast, this service will become widespread in the late 2020s - then, according to the government's plans, Russia will have its own groups of low—orbit satellites (Ilon Musk's Starlink analogues), to which terrestrial smartphones can be connected.

Smartphones that support cellular-satellite communications are already being produced by manufacturers from the United States and Europe, but so far there is no full—fledged Internet "from space" and there are no calls to them - they can only transmit short messages via satellite, says Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group. Most likely, by the end of the decade they will support full-fledged access to the network, but whether Russians will be able to use it depends on how Russian satellite groups will develop, the expert concludes.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Communication from space: via satellite, it will be possible to make calls from a regular smartphone