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In addition to satellites, could iPhones one day receive 5G from an unmanned high-altitude plane or balloon? Globalstar, the company powering the satellite features on Apple iPhones, is considering an experimental test using a “high-altitude” vehicle to deliver cellular connectivity.
On Wednesday, the company filed with the US Federal Communications Commission for experimental authority to test a “prototype wireless high-altitude platform station” using Globalstar’s licensed 2.4GHz radio spectrum.
“Globalstar will deploy XCOM RAN technology on a long-endurance uncrewed aircraft system (“UAS”) operating at an altitude between 3,000 and 60,000 feet,” the company wrote, later adding: “This UAS will be manufactured by a leading aviation company.”
The application says the high-altitude vehicle will only be used for “test purposes” and will not cover commercial operations. Globalstar wants to conduct the tests over a six-month period from October 2025 to April 2026.
The high-altitude vehicle is designed to communicate over the 5G “n53” radio band, which Apple began to support with the iPhone 14, the first models to support the satellite-powered Emergency SOS. The application also suggests Globalstar wants to bolster its existing satellite coverage with the high-altitude platform stations, also known as HAPS.
(Credit: Globalstar/FCC)"In the future, wireless HAPS systems in Band n53 could be used to fill in gaps in mobile wireless carriers’ voice and broadband coverage areas,” the company wrote. “Live airborne testing in an operationally relevant environment is required to ensure that the HAPS RF system meets its functional and performance-related requirements.”
The prototype vehicle will also be outfitted with a Globalstar 5G radio unit connected to two antennas designed for “2x2 MIMO 5G/LTE” connectivity. The plan is to beam 5G access to devices below in a circular area “with a radius of approximately 20 miles.”
Globalstar didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But a PCMag reader pointed out the application requests permission to conduct the tests at a Pendleton, Oregon, airport site used for unmanned aircraft, including from a Boeing company called Insitu.
(Credit: Insitu)Insitu's website shows it's been developing a drone that can communicate with satellite networks. The vehicle, the "Integrator Extended Range," can fly as high as 20,000 feet and remain in the air for up to 27 hours.
Globalstar's application also recalls other efforts to use planes and balloons to deliver data. Perhaps most notably, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, tried harnessing high-flying balloons to beam internet access to underserved areas with Project Loon, but the company later shut down the project. Facebook tried something similar with Project Aquila.
Meanwhile, an Airbus subsidiary called AALTO HAPS has been working on a solar-powered, unmanned drone called the Zephyr to deliver connectivity from the sky at 60,000+ feet. In May, the Zephyr achieved a new record, maintaining 67 days of flight in the stratosphere. We reached out to Insitu and AALTO to see if they're involved, and will update the story if we hear back.
(Credit: AALTO)
(Credit: AALTO)