AST SpaceMobile recently completed a series of tests where its engineers downloaded data at 10Mbps from an off-the-shelf smartphone connected to a satellite in low-Earth orbit..
I was doing this analog with the International Space Station in 1992. During the horizon overpass I was able to establish voice contact via a 2 watt handheld transmitter. This was a two way contact with an ham radio operator on the ISS. The voice bandwidth far exceeds the 4g bandwidth. I’m not sure exactly how this is new being that it was a one way contact. It’s basically line of sight communications which is exactly what the higher frequencies are intended for; nothing in their path. Still cool nonetheless. I wonder how they received the FCC okay for it though.
I was doing this analog with the International Space Station in 1992. During the horizon overpass I was able to establish voice contact via a 2 watt handheld transmitter. This was a two way contact with an ham radio operator on the ISS. The voice bandwidth far exceeds the 4g bandwidth. I’m not sure exactly how this is new being that it was a one way contact. It’s basically line of sight communications which is exactly what the higher frequencies are intended for; nothing in their path. Still cool nonetheless. I wonder how they received the FCC okay for it though.