Ericsson and friends muscle in on direct-to-satellite 5G

Swedish vendor Ericsson has partnered with chip maker Qualcomm and defence giant Thales to help it conquer a new frontier of space-based comms.
That frontier is direct-to-satellite 5G connectivity, or 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) to put it in 3GPP terminology. It’s exciting because it promises to enable off-the-shelf cellular devices to get a connection in the most remote locations without help from any ancillary equipment on Terra firma. No ground stations, no satellite phones, no t