Lynk Global says it has connected smartphones, tablets and IoT devices in the Bahamas, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US.
CEO Charles Miller (pictured) said the tests meant a “move one step closer to launching commercial services later this year”.
The company said that, during testing, its satellite in orbit connected to mobile phones from eight of the top 10 mobile network operators in the world.
It added that it “has already signed contracts with seven mobile network operators for its commercial service, with more to be announced in the coming year”. But it did not name any of them.
Lynk said it is releasing a map illustrating some of the achievements during testing, and an image of its new satellite, which optimised for “satellite direct to phone” capabilities.
A year ago Lynk said it was aiming for a full constellation of 5,000 satellites and said that will “provide broadband speeds”. Its website refers to an orbiting height of 500km, putting it firmly among other the low Earth orbit (LEO) of operators such as SpaceX’s Starlink.
Lynk applied for a licence from the US regulator last year, for an initial 10 satellites in orbit.
