Virginia-based UbiquitiLink says it has raised another US$5.2 million in seed funding for a network that aims to provide satellite connectivity for standard mobile devices.
The latest investments from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund and Blazar Ventures bring UbiquitiLink’s total funding to $12 million. UbiquitiLink says the added cash will accelerate development of the company’s commercial service with a series of five orbital test flights.
In an interview, UbiquitiLink co-founder and CEO Charles Miller said he expects the initial “killer app” will be text messaging.
“Our vision is that never again should somebody die because they have a phone in their pocket but they’re disconnected,” he told GeekWire. “You should always be connected if you want to be. That day will be here soon.”
UbiquitiLink’s satellite-based system would mesh with terrestrial mobile networks to provide LTE (4G) and GSM (2G) connectivity when a mobile device is outside the coverage area for a ground-based telecommunications network. The cost of the satellite service would be folded into the charges from mobile service providers.
Miller said more than 20 mobile operators have already signed testing agreements. Cellular One in Arizona, Telefonica’s MoviStar service in Argentina and Vodafone Hutchison in Australia are among the publicly disclosed partners, he said.
Still more mobile operators are waiting in the wings, Miller said: “They generally say this is the Holy Grail, and they want proof.”
UbiquitiLink’s first “cell tower in space” was sent to the International Space Station last December, installed onto a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship and successfully tested in February after the Cygnus left the station for its free-flying phase.
Source: https://www.geekwire.com/2019/ubiquitilink-wins-5-2m-boost-satellite-service-works-standard-phones/