History was made on April 2023 in Midland, Texas, when AST SpaceMobile and Japan-based e-commerce giant Rakuten conducted a call using the former’s BlueWalker 3 (BW3) low-Earth-orbit satellite. The call was made using an iPhone and a Samsung Galaxy S22: the first instance of a satellite-to-smartphone audio conversation.

It’s still early days for the technology. Still, the test achieved impressive 2G speeds, with tests to reach higher 3G speeds set for the future. It’s enough to make you wonder if satellite-to-device technology could make our lives a bit easier. Here are a few ways it could happen.

1. No International Roaming

There’s nothing to lift the mood and get rid of your work funk quite like an international vacation. That is, until you see your phone bill. Data roaming fees will inflate your phone bill if you use your mobile data internationally.

Satellite-to-device technology could eliminate this problem altogether.

Rather than relying on international cell towers to use your phone when there’s no Wi-Fi network in sight, you could use your phone’s satellite connectivity option to communicate via satellite connectivity instead.

However, this is assuming that your cell provider won’t also increase its rate for using its satellite service. Still, it would be nice to see a competitive alternative to risking the dangers of using public Wi-Fi when you have no cell signal or getting charged roaming rates.

2. Broadband Reception Everywhere

Speaking of no cell signal abroad, satellite-to-device connectivity could eliminate this problem altogether. But let’s look beyond the end of dead zones.

Let’s assume that satellite-to-device technology jumps beyond 2G connectivity, scales the cliff’s edge of 3G connectivity, and lands somewhere similar to 5G speeds. If that happens—and low-orbiting satellites like Rakuten’s can cover the globe—every mobile device on Earth would have broadband access.

3. Never Be Lost Again

If you’ve ever been lost in the woods or unable to find a loved one, you understand the helpless ache in the pit of your stomach. Satellite-to-device connectivity could make this stressful endeavor a thing of the past. We’re already using the spirit of these solutions via products like smart pet trackers and GPS collars.

These products could also be applied to Apple Watch-like devices for children with satellite connectivity, making it easy for your child’s watch to be pinged. Similar elder care devices would likely be available via an app or devices like smart hearing aids.

But this could lead to even more exasperated privacy concerns than we currently have in 2023. If you’re the kind of person that wants to remove personal information from Google Search results and other best privacy practices, this is tech to keep an eye out for.

4. Google Maps, Everywhere

Project Aria is Meta’s AR research project, first announced in September 2020. Think Google’s now-defunct Google Glass project, but with stylish glasses you’d actually want to wear.

It’s still unclear June 2023 if Project Aria will see the light of day or if it’ll have any impact on our daily lives. But the one takeaway from the project is that it can be used like Google Maps for many aspects of your life.

If satellite-to-device connectivity becomes the norm, it could be too late for Meta. You wouldn’t need a device like Project Aria to map out your home or neighborhood. Your satellite-connected devices will already chart a decent map on their own by talking to one another.

We’re already seeing whispers of this kind of tech via Amazon’s Amazon Sidewalk program that essentially creates a smart neighborhood using its IoT devices like the Echo and the Ring. Satellite connectivity could take this function steps further and virtually map out your home and neighborhood so you can find about anything. But do you want to?

Satellite-to-Device Connectivity Will Simplify Our Lives

It’s a tale as old as time. Satellite-to-device connectivity has the potential to make our lives a tad less stressful and easier to manage. Who wouldn’t want to find their loved one or holiday cookware as easily as checking the weather on their device?

But what will it cost us in terms of our privacy? An exasperated version of our privacy woes pre-satellite-to-device connectivity? Or something darker?