Connectivity Technology Blog

KDDI is a big fan of SpaceX's Starlink satellites. Earlier this year I talked about how it's working to solve rural connectivity issue in Japan with the help of Starlink. In August this year, KDDI signed an agreement with SpaceX to bring Satellite-to-Cellular (Direct-to-Device) service to Japan.  Along with solving the connectivity challenges, KDDI is also looking at Starlink to solve the backhaul challenge in case if disaster strikes that destroys the ground infrastructure. A press release in July detailed this as follows: KDDI and KDDI Engineering will deploy vehicle-mounted base stations and portable base stations that use the satellite broadband service "Starlink" as a backhaul line starting in July 2023, and will deploy approximately 200 base stations, including ship-type base stations, by the end of fiscal 2023. The machines will be introduced nationwide. Through this, we aim to provide customers with high-speed, low-latency au communications even in the even...

I recently wrote about 3GPP progress towards 5G drones (UAS/UAV) connectivity here . In addition, there is also Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) feature that could be used to bring connectivity to hard to reach areas and in case of emergencies and disasters. I wrote about that here . AT&T on the other hand is celebrating 1 Million Connections and Launch of “FirstNet One” – a Deployable Blimp – for Public Safety. Their press release says: More than 10,000 public safety agencies and organizations across the country have subscribed and over 1 million FirstNet connections are in service, bringing first responders and those that support them the reliability, capability and accountability they trust to carry out their mission. Jason Porter, senior vice president, FirstNet Program at AT&T said, “FirstNet is the only wireless communications platform that’s been architected from the ground up just for the public safety community. It’s specifically designed to advance public saf...

Back in April SoftBank announced the launch of a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business through HAPSMobile, a joint venture between SoftBank and US-based company AeroVironment, Inc. With the aim of constructing a HAPS system that delivers telecommunications network connectivity from the sky for a global business, HAPSMobile developed “HAWK30,” an unmanned aircraft for stratospheric telecommunications platform system that flies at altitudes of approximately 20 kilometers. HAPS refers to systems where unmanned objects such as aircraft flying in the stratosphere can be operated like telecommunication base stations to deliver connectivity across wide areas. By utilizing HAPS, SoftBank will be able to build stable Internet connection environments at locations unserved by telecommunication networks, such as mountainous terrain, remote islands and developing countries. Furthermore, by efficiently interconnecting with current telecommunication networks, SoftBank will be able to ...