All phones are satellite phones, already.

[Sawin]

I'm not the least bit surprised. My iPhone, even with zero coverage or cellular data turned off, still works as a GPS on an App called "Topo Maps" somehow. I've used it hiking in the back country on more than one occasion and the little blue dot (that represents my location) is always right on the mark...

[davsel]

I'm not the least bit surprised. My iPhone, even with zero coverage or cellular data turned off, still works as a GPS on an App called "Topo Maps" somehow. I've used it hiking in the back country on more than one occasion and the little blue dot (that represents my location) is always right on the mark...

Receiving a GPS signal from a satellite is much easier than sending a signal to a satellite.

[Sawin]

Receiving a GPS signal from a satellite is much easier than sending a signal to a satellite.

A very fair and valid point.

[Gman]

Receiving a GPS signal from a satellite is much easier than sending a signal to a satellite.

Bingo.

GPS sats are in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), 12,250 miles up and they go around the earth twice a day. I see the reference to DirecTV, which is in geosynchronous orbit (GSO) in the Clarke Belt, and it is over 22,200 miles away. Sending signals to those satellites requires a directional dish and you have to remember that you're hitting a target about the size of a car.

A constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communications satellites for global Internet access has been theorized and is in some limited testing.

One problem with using satellite for Internet is latency and the need to use ground stations to reach terrestrial connected infrastructure. Another issue is that the satellites themselves have limited bandwidth and the more users that are connected to them, the worse the user experience. At least Ubiquiti is focused on low bandwidth communications such as text.

If you have a bunch of these LEO satellites about 310 miles out continually travelling around the planet, imagine the increased challenges of launching something in a deeper orbit and avoiding collisions. The International Space Station is also in LEO at 254 miles out. If a satellite has station-keeping issues and the orbit degrades, things get really interesting.