Three ways to connect where there is no network

Each box is a different way to connect a place that has no ordinary network nearby, or no person there to connect it.

1Satelliteconnectivity ↓Satellites that connect ships,aircraft and, now, ordinary phones.ViasatPanasonic Avionics Corp.LynkSkyloAST SpaceMobileAstrogate LabsSatlabs Space Systems2Mesh radios ↓Radios that pass messages to eachother, so a group of them works as anetwork with no tower.Silvus Technologies3Cellular modules ↓Small circuit boards that connectmachines, such as electricitymeters, to the mobile network.Quectel Wireless Solutions1Satellite connectivity ↓Satellites that connect ships, aircraftand, now, ordinary phones.ViasatPanasonic Avionics Corp.LynkSkyloAST SpaceMobileAstrogate LabsSatlabs Space Systems2Mesh radios ↓Radios that pass messages to each other,so a group of them works as a network withno tower.Silvus Technologies3Cellular modules ↓Small circuit boards that connectmachines, such as electricity meters, tothe mobile network.Quectel Wireless Solutions

Box 1 reaches ships at sea and aircraft in flight. Box 2 reaches an army patrol in the mountains, where there is no tower and the mountains can block a satellite's signal. Box 3 connects a machine, such as a meter in a basement, that has no person to connect it. Tap a title in the diagram to jump to its companies.

1

Satellite connectivity 7 companies

A satellite can reach places that no tower or cable reaches, such as a ship in the middle of the ocean. Some satellites fly low, at 500 to 600 km. Many of them are needed to cover the planet, but their signal takes less time to arrive. Others are much higher, at about 36,000 km, and stay above the same spot on Earth. A few of them cover most of the planet, but their signal takes longer to arrive.

Satellite links for ships and aircraft

Satellite connections for ships at sea and for passengers on aircraft.

Viasat logoViasatViasat runs satellites that connect ships, aircraft and armed forces. It became much bigger after it bought Inmarsat in 2023. Its teams in Chennai and Hyderabad build the modems and terminals on a ship or aircraft that talk to the satellite.Chennai · HyderabadHired recently
Panasonic Avionics Corp. logoPanasonic Avionics Corp.Panasonic Avionics puts screens and Wi-Fi into aircraft cabins. Its satellite antenna, on top of the aircraft, can connect to satellites in different orbits.PuneHired recentlySee alsoAircraft and aerospace systems makers

Satellites for ordinary phones

An ordinary phone with no tower in range connects straight to a satellite. The satellite passes the call or message on to the operator's network, and the phone still shows the operator's name.

Lynk logoLynkLynk is building low-orbit satellites that work like mobile towers, so that ordinary phones in remote places can connect to them. It is at an early stage.ChennaiHired recently
Skylo logoSkyloSkylo is already live. It uses existing satellites and the standard chips inside phones to carry messages for phones and connected devices, and it provides the satellite SOS service on several phone models. A large share of its engineering is done in Bengaluru.BengaluruHiring now
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobileAST SpaceMobile is building a network of large low-orbit satellites that work like mobile towers in space: an ordinary phone connects to them directly. Its team in India is in Hyderabad. It is at an early stage.Hyderabad

Laser links and relay satellites

Equipment for the satellite networks themselves: laser equipment that sends data between satellites using light instead of radio waves, and small satellites that pass data on from other satellites to the ground.

Astrogate Labs logoAstrogate LabsAstrogate Labs, in Bengaluru, makes laser communication terminals for small satellites, and the ground stations that receive their light signals. Lasers can carry far more data than radio.
Satlabs Space Systems logoSatlabs Space SystemsSatlabs Space Systems, in Chennai, is building a network of small satellites that relay data. Each satellite's equipment can be changed by updating its software, and customers reach the whole network through one API.
The tech, explainedMaritime and aviation satellite internetIn-flight Wi-FiDirect-to-device satelliteLaser satellite communicationSatellite data relay
2

Mesh radios 1 company

In the mountains, there is often no mobile tower nearby, and the mountains themselves can block the signal between a radio and a satellite. Mesh radios need neither a tower nor a satellite. Each radio passes messages on to the others, so when a mountain blocks one path, the message takes another. Armies and drone operators are the main buyers.

Silvus Technologies logoSilvus TechnologiesPart of Motorola SolutionsSilvus Technologies makes mesh radios that are controlled mostly by software rather than by fixed hardware. Each radio uses many antennas at once, so its signal can get through where a radio with one antenna would fail. Motorola Solutions bought it in 2025.
The tech, explainedMesh and tactical radios
3

Cellular modules 1 company

A machine such as an electricity meter in a basement has no person to connect it to a network. A cellular module is a small circuit board inside the machine that connects it to the mobile network by itself.

QQuectel Wireless SolutionsQuectel Wireless Solutions is one of the largest Chinese makers of cellular modules. It has teams in Pune and Bengaluru.Pune · Bengaluru
The tech, explainedCellular IoT modules
How it all worksSatellite and remote connectivityA ship, a plane, a patrol, a basement meter.
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What's changing

Ordinary phones are starting to reach satellites.

Until recently, only special satellite phones could connect to a satellite. Now some ordinary phones can send an SOS message by satellite where there is no tower, using services such as Skylo's. Companies such as AST SpaceMobile and Lynk aim to go further, with full calls and data. At the same time, satellites are starting to send data to each other and to the ground with lasers instead of radio, because light carries far more data.

Read moreDirect-to-device satelliteLaser satellite communication
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Companies: ingrid's company map. Hiring signals: postings feed of 5 Nov 2026.