Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T has launched a direct-to-mobile satellite service that will provide users with text and emergency connectivity in remote areas beyond the limits of traditional wireless networks.
The release of the service, through a trial announced Tuesday, will help fill in the network gaps in rural and remote areas that cannot easily be served using physical infrastructure on the ground, and where it is not cost-effective for carriers to do so.
A map provided by Rogers shows the direct-to-mobile satellite service is available in the geographic area up to about the 58th parallel, including all the provinces but not Canada’s northern territories. The company said this range will grow as more satellites are deployed.
Canadians using 4G or 5G mobile phones – which make up the majority of modern smartphones – with any provider can register for free as part of a trial period of the service, which will last until October.
After that, subscribers with any carrier will be able to access Rogers Satellite for $15 a month. Those who participated in the trial will get a $5 monthly discount for one year. The service will be included for Rogers customers on the Ultimate Plan, which currently costs $85.
Users will initially be able to send text messages within the coverage area, wherever the sky is visible, even if no conventional cell service is available.
Users will also be able to access text-to-911 in areas where a user has no other cell-phone service. In an emergency, Rogers Satellite will connect to a central Canadian public-safety-service provider operator, which will then contact the local emergency-service provider to dispatch an emergency response team, according to the company.
In the future, the service will be expanded to include social and messaging apps, followed by data and then voice, including 911 voice services.
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“Long term, it’s not our intention to hold back 911 to subscribing customers only,” said Rogers chief executive officer Tony Staffieri in an interview.
The direct-to-mobile service will use Rogers’s wireless spectrum to connect to low-earth orbit satellites owned by Starlink, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Rogers is also working with U.S. company Lynk Global Inc. and several other satellite vendors to expand its satellite offerings. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian satellite company Telesat Corp. TSAT-T to connect to its low-earth-orbit broadband network, and has entered into discussions with Quebec-based Terrestar Solutions and California-based Skylo to further expand coverage.
Mr. Staffieri said future partnerships will depend on “who is first and who is best for Canadians” in terms of coverage and quality.
Part of the reason so much of Canada lacks cell service is that carriers have little financial incentive to deploy expensive networks in areas that are sparsely populated and unlikely to drive a return.
Mr. Staffieri declined to say how the new feature fits into the company’s financial strategy, including whether it would be profitable for Rogers or what it would cost the company to offer the service.
When asked if he expects the price to rise as more features become available, he said the company has not yet “done a lot of work on pricing strategy long term,” so it’s too soon to comment.
“This is really early days,” Mr. Staffieri said. “The focus is on getting the technology and the service launched to Canadians.”
For now, the goal is to reach as many Canadians as possible with the service, he said, noting that, to date, wireless networks of all carriers combined only cover 18 per cent of the country’s land mass.
Some other options are available. Canadians with the iPhone 14 or later can access Apple’s satellite-enabled Emergency SOS services when out of cell-phone range. In 2023, Telus Corp. TU-N also trialed direct-to-satellite service, though the company has yet to announce a comparable offering.
Currently, text-to-911 services using conventional wireless service are only available to people who are deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired, and require a special registration.
Canadian companies, first responders and the government are now implementing an updated emergency contact system known as Next Generation 911, which will one day allow anyone to send a special kind of message known as a “real time text” to 911 response centres.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the national telecom regulator, has yet to set a deadline for providing this service to the general public.