Skylo Expands into Asia, Certifies Samsung Exynos 2500 Amid Growing Recognition for Satellite D2D Leadership
Skylo Technologies, a pioneer in satellite Direct-to-Device (D2D) connectivity, is solidifying its leadership position amid global regulatory uncertainty and intensifying competition. The company has announced key partnerships across Asia, underscoring its growing commercial availability worldwide and faster time to market for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). Skylo’s momentum is further validated by its recent win of the prestigious GLOMO award for Best Non-Terrestrial Network at MWC Barcelona—for the second consecutive year—and the activation of nearly 7 million devices on its network. As the world’s largest mobile network operator in terms of geographic coverage, spanning 37 countries including the newly added Iceland, Skylo is proving the real-world impact of its services by routing Satellite SOS messages from consumers in need of emergency assistance nearly every other day.
A forthcoming global report by Analysys Mason, titled “MNOs and OEMs Need to Adopt Satellite D2D Now,” highlights the strategic importance of satellite D2D for MNOs and OEMs while recognizing Skylo as offering the “most stable and reliable service” in the industry. The report critiques competing solutions, noting their “significant availability gaps” and detailing the regulatory hurdles they face. These challenges include the need for each country to issue specific licenses for space-based use of terrestrial spectrum, along with complex coordination to avoid interference with ground-based services—factors that can delay deployments and limit scalability. In contrast, Skylo’s innovative approach leverages existing, globally allocated frequency bands, enabling expansive, commercially available service today.
The report emphasizes the trade-offs associated with competing technologies, such as interference risks, regulatory complexity, device compatibility issues, and prolonged time to market. Skylo’s standards-based methodology provides OEMs and MNOs with a significant head start, allowing them to roll out emergency and messaging services quickly while building user trust and brand value. The full report will be available on the Analysys Mason website starting Wednesday.
“As demand for resilient, ubiquitous connectivity continues to grow, Asia is a natural next step as a focus for Skylo—home to technology powerhouses shaping the future of connected experiences,” said Parthsarathi Trivedi, CEO and co-founder of Skylo. “Our standards-based approach, which leverages existing MSS spectrum, allows MNOs and device manufacturers to quickly bring commercially available satellite services to market. These services are already saving lives without requiring additional regulatory approval. By enabling devices to stay connected wherever they are, we’re helping drive the next generation of digital transformation.”
Key Milestones in Asia: Partnerships Driving Satellite Connectivity
Samsung Semiconductor
Following over a year of joint research and collaboration, Skylo certified the Samsung Exynos Modem 5400 in mid-2024, unlocking satellite D2D connectivity for high-volume flagship Android smartphones on Skylo’s network. Building on this success, Skylo has now certified the Exynos 2500 mobile processor, which offers improved energy efficiency and higher performance.
“Samsung’s partnership with Skylo is built upon 3GPP NTN standards to unlock connectivity everywhere,” said Hui Won Je, VP of Modem Development Team at Samsung Electronics. “Through our collaboration on the Samsung Exynos Modem 5400 and the Exynos 2500 mobile processor, mainstream devices worldwide will now have the underlying technology to connect to satellites wherever cellular networks are unavailable, ushering in a new era of ubiquitous connectivity.”
OPPO
Skylo has also partnered with OPPO, a leading global smart device manufacturer with a strong presence in APAC, Europe, India, the Middle East, and LATAM. The two companies are working closely to enable OPPO devices to test Skylo’s service as an extension of existing terrestrial networks.
“OPPO is an innovation-driven brand, and our partnership with Skylo unlocks the next generation of NTN standards-based satellite connectivity for smartphones,” said Yang Xia, Head of Global Strategic Partnership and Carrier Management at OPPO.
Tecno (a brand of Transsion) & Mlink
Skylo has teamed up with Tecno (a brand of Transsion) and Mlink to develop NTN-capable smartphones. Tecno is integrating the Mlink MS210 chipset, optimized for mainstream consumer smartphones, to support E-SOS and SMS over Skylo’s NTN service.
“The Mlink MS210 chipset is Skylo-certified and designed for seamless integration into consumer devices. We’re excited to support Tecno’s upcoming launch,” said Zhiping An, Co-Founder of Mlink.
HARMAN Automotive
Skylo’s collaboration with HARMAN, a Samsung company, focuses on enhancing automotive emergency services. The HARMAN Ready Connect telematics control unit (TCU), powered by the Qualcomm SA522M/525M chipset, will now support bidirectional emergency messaging and real-time updates in areas without cellular coverage.
“HARMAN Ready Connect is the world’s first TCU product to showcase Skylo’s NTN connectivity in an all-in-one integrated form factor. We’re thrilled to partner with Skylo to enable global-scale automotive connectivity using next-generation satellite technology,” said Suman Sehra, Global VP of Connectivity Portfolio Management at HARMAN International.
LG Electronics
Skylo has partnered with LG to bring scale, reliability, and ease of integration to the automotive industry for safety, diagnostics, and emergency services. At the recent 5G Automotive Association event in Paris, LG and Skylo demonstrated AI-based voice recognition combined with satellite connectivity to highlight next-generation emergency response services.
“At the 5GAA event, we showcased how Skylo’s NTN connectivity can revolutionize emergency response services for the automotive segment,” said Sung-Ryong Hong, Research Fellow at LG Electronics.
China Device Ecosystem
Skylo is also expanding its reach within China’s vibrant device ecosystem. Multibyte customers in Skylo-covered regions can now access NTN services through the Fuzhou IoT OTT messaging platform, enabling peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging.
“Multibyte is excited to empower China OEMs and other customers with a global solution combining cellular and Skylo NTN services,” said Jim Yang, Director of Multibyte. Meanwhile, Fuzhou IoT is collaborating closely with China OEMs to enable out-of-the-box NTN messaging for smartphones and other devices. “Blackview, our first customer, will launch ruggedized Skylo NTN-enabled smartphones in the European market in the coming quarter,” said Geng Yan, Director of Fuzhou IoT.
About Skylo
Skylo Technologies is a global Non-Terrestrial Network service provider based in Mountain View, CA, offering a service that allows smartphones and IoT cellular devices to connect directly over existing satellites. Devices connected over satellite are managed and served by Skylo’s commercial NTN vRAN, featuring a 3GPP standards-based cloud-native base station and core. Skylo works with existing satellite operators, network operators, and device makers to provide subscribers an anywhere, anytime connectivity solution between terrestrial and satellite networks. Skylo’s focus is on enabling connected services for people outdoors and connected workflows for machines at work across critical industries such as agriculture, maritime, logistics, mining, and others, in addition to mass-market consumer devices. For more information, visit www.skylo.tech.
