By Aazam
The Federal Communications Commission approved Lynk’s plan for an initial 10 pizza-boxed shaped satellites, designed to deliver basic connectivity services directly to standard mobile phones from low Earth orbit (LEO)
The approval for Lynk Tower satellites 1 through 10 came with conditions that limit the startup’s use of radio frequencies to avoid interfering with other operators
Four in-orbit Lynk Towers would be enough to enable mobile users to send and receive text messages about four to eight times a day, depending on their latitude
The Virginia-based startup currently has licenses that enable it to test its planned services in 18 countries, including the United States
Lynk could secure a U.S. MNO partnership and gain a market access license in the country before it deploys the remaining six satellites in its initial constellation next year
Lynk builds its satellites in-house and plans to deploy more than 50 of them before the end of 2023 to increase satellite revisit times to every 15-30 minutes
Lynk has signed with MNOs, the startup has announced deals in the Bahamas, Papua New Guinea, Central African Republic, Solomon Islands, and Mongolia
Texas-based startup AST SpaceMobile plans to hit the ground running with 4G and 5G capabilities after its first commercial satellite launch in late 2023