As always, the transition to the new year was celebrated with a record number of SMS messages. New Zealanders were the first to switch to 2025 but also the first to be able to send their messages from anywhere, even without a network, via satellite.
Published on 01/01/2025 11:17
Reading time: 2min
The first to send their SMS greetings for 2025, New Zealanders were also able to send them from anywhere, even from the famous white zones, in the middle of the desert or in the middle of the ocean. How ? Thanks to a very simple idea: rather than depending on GSM antennas on the ground, we put them on satellites in space, which makes it possible to cover areas of several hundred kilometers at once.
We have been working on this all over the world for several years, notably with operators like Starlink, AST Space Mobile and Lynk. The first commercial service has therefore just opened in New Zealand for customers of the operator One NZ.
A first test took place in Greece a few weeks ago. This was with Deutsche Telekom and Skylo, another GSM specialist in space. But for the moment, no commissioning date has been set. Because Europe is a little behind on this type of satellites. On the other hand, those of Elon Musk's Starlink constellation have just completed their deployment. These are also the ones we rely on in New Zealand. And agreements are planned with Swiss, Austrian and of course American operators where the service should open in February.
This service will be reserved only for text messages even if, in the long term, the objective is to also offer access to the internet and telephone. Note, however, that for this to work, you will need to be able to see the sky. So it won't work underground or in a tunnel, for example. Then, you will need a recent mobile, a model with a 5G antenna. Finally, it will be very slow. Sending or receiving may take ten minutes or more. So there are some limitations. But it will still be very practical for asking for help, if you have a problem in the middle of nowhere. Or, quite simply, to wish a happy new year at the top of a mountain.
