Satellite Roaming Agreements?

[Chuong Nguyen]

If you live in the outskirts of good coverage and wished your provider would add a tower or sign a roaming agreement with a rival service provider so you can get better coverage, then you will be happy to hear that Qualcomm is working with SkyTerra Mobile Satellite provider to create a chip that will enable regular cell coverage and satellite coverage for those moments when you do need to roam.

Qualcomm will integrate the technologies into a multi-mode broadband chip according to a report from Geek.com. The idea sounds good as it may lead to the end of dead-spots, but hopefully some strategic roaming agreements will be dished out by the carriers and satellite service providers so that users won't be charged an arm and a leg for ubiquitous coverage. The companies involved have issued a joint press release, which you can read for additional details.

The other good news is that the Qualcomm chips could also mean the death of the bulky satellite antennas found on phones of yore.