Bullitt Group is an innovative British mobile phone maker that has a strategic cooperation with Motorola and Cat to build rugged phones.
In December last year, the British company made public its intentions to introduce the world’s first smartphone equipped with two-way satellite messaging capabilities. Over the past two years, Bullitt has collaborated with a major chipset manufacturer and a satellite network infrastructure partner to develop a messaging service for devices capable of making a seamless transition between Wi-Fi, cellular, and satellite connectivity.
The satellite messaging service that Bullitt Group runs would be accessible to anybody who uses their phones (regardless of network carrier), provided that they sign up for a satellite service plan and use the proprietary messaging app that Bullitt Group provides.
This will make it possible for the upcoming handset to switch between cellular, WiFi, and satellite connectivity without any interruptions. The functionality, which has been given the name Bullitt Satellite Connect, is the result of a joint effort on the part of Bullitt, MediaTek, and Skylo. In the event that the device is unable to connect through a WiFi or cellular network as is usual, Bullitt’s messaging system will attempt to connect using a satellite. Notably, any person on the receiving end will get a regular SMS delivered to their phones, and they will also be able to respond by using the Bullitt Satellite Messenger app on their devices.
Bullitt indicated that “the cost of the messages will be deducted from the satellite messaging subscriber’s plan with no cost to the recipient.” While the specifics of this deduction are not known, Bullitt did say that the recipient would not be charged. The subscription plans to start at as low as 4.99 US dollars per month, and the SOS Assistance will, but for the first year, it will be completely free.
The Bullitt Group has stated that the service will be accessible for commercial use beginning in the first quarter of 2023. In addition to this, the company said that the next smartphone in the Defy series will be the first smartphone to enable its satellite messaging service.