The company plans to launch with voice and data support
Following in the footsteps of Apple and Rogers, Bell Mobility has announced plans to launch a satellite-to-cell network for its customers next year.
Bell hopes to launch a trial of the service and then roll out the paid service shortly after. Unlike Rogers, which uses Starlink Satellites, or Apple, which uses Globestar, Bell is offering its service from the Texas-based AST SpaceMobile Inc. All three are using low-earth orbit satellites.
However, while Bell has announced this partnership and successfully tested the service, it is still waiting on SpaceMobile to launch more satellites to complete its constellation over Canada. Bell already owns the spectrum needed to go live with this service, but it needs regulatory approval to shift it from standard cell to satellite compatibility.
In a press realease, Bell says that it’s specifically using a section of lower-band spectrum since it enables a stronger connection, but that will remain to be seen. All of the communications will also use Canadian Bell stations so that all the data collected from this endeavour will stay within Canada.
The kicker will be the price whenever it’s announced. Rogers will costs $15 per month, so I suspect Bell will do the same. What will be more interesting to see is if Apple or Starlink are able to undercut the carriers with their own services. Right now, Apple’s services are free for two years with each new iPhone purchase, and Starlink has yet to launch consumer offerings for a direct-to-cell network.
It will also be interesting to see if Rogers will expand its network from just texting to calls, video streaming and other services by the time Bell launches next year.
While I want to believe that both the tech companies will try to undercut the carriers, I’m not sure that will happen since both are beholden to them in one way or another. Rogers and Starlink have a deal for the tech company’s satellites to be used by the Canadian carrier, so it would be strange for Starlink to anger that business partner. Similarly, Apple sells many iPhones via the carriers, so while I believe its branding is powerful enough to overcome a fight, I’m unsure if it deems the fight worthwhile. So I expect both of these to be priced similarly to what Rogers offers. Ideally, it will be easier to pick up one of these plans when needed since you won’t need to interact with a carrier.
Source: Bell
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
