Qualcomm Inc announced that it is collaborating with a group of Android smartphone manufacturers to add satellite-based messaging capabilities to their devices. The San Diego, California-based company, which is the world’s largest supplier of chips that connect mobile phones to wireless data networks, said it is developing the devices in collaboration with Honor, Lenovo-owned Motorola, Nothing, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi Corp.
Satellite communications can transmit and receive data in remote or rural areas where other telecommunications networks do not exist. Qualcomm announced earlier this year that the capabilities would be added to its chips.