Satellite texting comes to Pixel 9s and Galaxy S25s on two carriers you didn’t expect

It’s hard to ignore when natural disasters strike near or far, partly because we’re all connected to high-definition news feeds and endless live coverage through the phones in our pockets. But those phones aren’t very helpful if they don’t have reception, and catastrophes like hurricanes and earthquakes tend to put a damper on things like electricity and cable. And what happens if you’re injured in the wilderness and need help getting out?

In the days of old, obsessively prepared hikers and Florida residents would look to bulky, expensive, barely usable satellite phones for access to the airwaves from the most remote or disaster-stricken areas. But this is the satellite age, and several enterprising carriers offer connectivity when there’s no working cell tower or Wi-Fi hotspot around. Among the first to support it, Spectrum and Xfinity Mobile are rolling out emergency satellite text messages — as long as you have a Galaxy S25 or Pixel 9 flagship, some of the only models yet released with the required hardware (Charter via 9to5Google).

Sending text messages 35,876 km above the Earth

Built on the foundations of the earliest satellite adopters, no less

Hot on the heels of Verizon introducing satellite texting, Spectrum and Xfinity just announced their cooperative emergency messaging rollout to the latest top-shelf Google and Pixel phones. Like Verizon, they’re working with non-terrestrial network provider Skylo. Skylo doesn’t have any of its own satellites, instead sourcing consumer bandwidth from operators Terrestar Solutions, Viasat, Ligado Networks, and EchoStar.

At least one of those names might ring a bell. Viasat has been one of the few providers to offer satellite internet since the technology matured enough (and launch costs dropped enough) 20 years ago to make consumer plans viable. And Echostar, while previously focused on satellite TV, is a sister company of Hughes Network Systems, the actual first company to ever offer consumer internet access beamed from the edge of space. So there’s plenty of history behind the endeavor.

Unlike the more hyped Starlink — which has its own off-Earth texting setup on the way — all these providers operate GEO or geosynchronous Earth orbit satellites. These relays blaze along at just over 3km per second, exactly 35,876 km from the Earth’s surface. And there are only a few of them. By comparison, Starlink satellites move at just over 7km per second, below 600km altitude, close to where Amazon’s Project Kuiper’s machines will sit if they ever get off the ground.

Where Starlink satellites constantly circle the planet, blanketing it with connectivity, GEO satellites stay in one position relative to Earth their entire lives and provide coverage to the same area the entire time. The ones Skylo uses cover the markets of Brazil, Australia, Europe, the US, and Canada.

How and why all these companies are teaming up

One of the biggest, brightest, best-designed (the Pixel 9 Pro XL) will get the big update from high in the sky.

Charter’s statement indicated that the “now available” feature is “expected to be added in the coming weeks.” That sounds like a contradiction, but probably just means they’re taking their time with the rollout to make sure nothing gets screwed up. Neither cell carrier approaches the giant subscriber numbers of leader Verizon. But Spectrum recently surpassed 10 million users, and Xfinity sits in the neighborhood of 7 million, with both trending upwards.

Using the special connectivity couldn’t be easier. When you lack any cell reception or Wi-Fi signal, your phone automatically switches to sending texts via satellite. There’s no headache, aiming, or wondering. In fact, Skylo has been investing its capital and expertise in this goal for years, and it’s finally starting to pay off. And, unlike manufacturer-provided satellite connections such as Google’s SOS, Skylo built its network with an eye on future expansion. It’s the first provider poised to potentially offer satellite mobile data contracting to any manufacturer of its choice — as long as phones targeted run Android 15. That’s the first version that was able to include software support for the satellite transmitter/receiver, which Skylo helped design and place.

It’s a promising move not just because of the life-saving potential of zero-reception text messaging, but also the industry-wide contributions of NTN provider Skylo to the satellite scene. The company’s engineers have worked closely with device designers and component manufacturers like Samsung and Qualcomm, helping them bake satellite connectivity support into today’s top smartphones without adding much bulk. It’s an impressive feat, especially considering how precisely you need to aim a medium-size dish at a GEO to get the necessary throughput for something like satellite TV.

That brings us to our biggest drawback. Geosynchronous satellites’ relatively extreme distance introduces considerable latency, and Skylo’s co-opted GEO relays don’t provide the capacity for anything more data-heavy than text. But if you or your loved ones need to get word to the outside world that you made it through the flood, or if your leg’s broken, and you’re on the far side of a remote mountain, Galaxy S25 or Pixel 9 and a contract from Xfinity or Spectrum could save your life.