Bullitt Group is a mobile phone firm based in the United Kingdom that, while not as well-known as Apple or Samsung, collaborates closely with these two companies and others, like Motorola and Cat, to develop highly capable mobile handsets.
The British company said at the end of the previous year that they would be the first to market a smartphone equipped with two-way satellite messaging. During the course of the previous two years, Bullitt has worked in conjunction with a major chipset manufacturer and a satellite network infrastructure partner to develop a messaging service for devices that are capable of executing handoffs between Wi-Fi, cellular, and satellite networks without interruption.
Any smartphone user (regardless of their carrier) who subscribes to a satellite service plan and downloads the messaging app developed by Bullitt Group would have access to the company's satellite messaging service.
The Bullitt Group stated in an announcement made the previous week that the service will be made available to the general public in the first quarter of 2023. In addition to this, they stated that their satellite messaging service would be integrated into the upcoming Defy smartphone, which will make it the first smartphone to do so.
Bullitt Satellite Connect is the name of the network that was jointly developed by the Bullitt Group, MediaTek, and Skylo. This network is what enables the Bullitt satellite messaging service to function.
In the case that a cellular or Wi-Fi connection cannot be made, the services provided by Bullitt will automatically switch to a satellite connection. It is important to note that the software for the Bullitt Satellite Messenger is compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. This allows everyone who gets a message to respond using their own phone, regardless of which operating system it runs on.
When it comes to the cost of the service, Bullitt asserts that "the cost of the messages will be deducted from the satellite messaging subscriber's plan with no cost to the recipient," while at the same time noting that monthly subscriptions can be obtained for as little as $4.99 and that the initial year of SOS Assistance is offered at no cost to the customer.
It is reasonable to hypothesize that the as-yet-unannounced Motorola Defy 5G rugged phone, in conjunction with Bullitt's satellite messaging service, will be made available sometime during the first three months of the year 2023.
