Lynk Requests FCC License to Launch Several Thousand Satellites to Partner with Mobile Operators Worldwide; Next Launch in June

By B.N. Frank

Experts continue warning against launching more satellites for a variety of valid and scary reasons (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). More satellites have been launched anyway except for in South Africa where they discovered 5G satellites were causing dangerous interference issues.

Lynk has filed for a license to fast-track an initial 10 satellites, eventually launching thousands to keep cell phones connected absolutely everywhere. The company is also promising that there will be no interference issues. Only time will tell.

From Fierce Wireless:

Lynk files for FCC license to use ‘cell towers in space’

Lynk Global claims to have a plan to make smartphones more intelligent when they’re at their dumbest, and it involves partnerships with mobile network operators (MNOs) around the world.

Based in Falls Church, Virginia, Lynk Global announced Tuesday that it has filed for a commercial operator’s license with the FCC. If its plans are approved, Lynk expects to begin offering commercial service starting next year.

Here’s the crux. Lynk wants to let anyone with a cell phone stay connected, anywhere in the world, with their existing phone. In doing so, it’s answering the call for getting service to hard-to-reach rural areas. Initially, its plan is to strike a deal with one mobile operator in a given geography.

Of course, a lot of satellite systems are vying for the FCC’s blessing, and many of them are competing to serve the same areas in need of broadband. But Lynk says it’s different, in part because it’s not aiming to be a Wi-Fi hotspot in somebody’s home.