It looks like we shouldn’t expect a mass appearance of smartphones with satellite communications support on Android in the near future.. Qualcomm terminated its agreement with Iridium.
Let's remember that earlier this year Qualcomm introduced Snapdragon Satellite – the world's first turnkey solution for smartphones capable of supporting two-way messaging with satellites. The basis for this was precisely the partnership with Iridium, since smartphones with support for Snapdragon Satellite would work with the latter’s satellites.
The termination of the agreement was not caused by a change in the plans of Qualcomm or Iridium itself.. The companies said they had “successfully developed and demonstrated the technology,” but smartphone makers “have not incorporated the technology into their devices,” prompting Qualcomm to terminate the agreement. That is, apparently, smartphone manufacturers simply did not show any significant interest in this decision. Possibly due to the associated costs.
However, the same Qualcomm says that smartphone manufacturers “give preference to standard solutions” for connecting satellites to phones, which means that there is no point in putting an end to the issue of satellite communications. In addition, Qualcomm adds that it continues to work with Iridium in this direction, just no longer as part of a project related to Snapdragon Satellite. In addition, Qualcomm intends to work with other satellite operators.