HMD targets adventurous types with OffGrid

It has launched OffGrid: a rugged dongle with a three-day battery life that can connect iOS and Android handsets to satellites operated by Viasat. Once hooked up, users can send messages, share their location, and call for aid in an emergency by mashing the dedicated SOS button.

When that happens, emergency response-as-a-service provider FocusPoint International leaps into action, sending Thunderbird 2 – or more likely a helicopter – to come and scrape you out of whatever jam you're stuck in.

The device has a $199 price tag, plus the cost of the service plan.

The Unlimited Plan comes with unlimited messages, plus access to the SOS service and a 'check-in' service that – as the name suggests – enables customers to check in with up to five recipients, sending a pre-configured message at the touch of a dedicated button. All that costs $14.99 per month, plus an activation fee of $9.99. If users want to add unlimited location tracking, that's an extra $4.99 per month.

There is also a cheaper price plan, the Freedom Plan, which costs $79.99 per year, and that caps the number of text and check-in messages at 350. Again, there's an activation fee of $19.99, and the option of unlimited live tracking for $4.99 per month.

Provided these don't come with minimum term lengths, then these monthly fees are quite reasonable. However, if a customer who only takes the occasional trip into the back of beyond is required to pay these fees every month for at least a year, then it might be hard to justify the expense.

In addition, as more smartphones come preloaded with satellite connectivity, the market for dedicated satellite dongles is likely to shrink, so OffGrid might have a limited shelf life.

"HMD OffGrid is a new, affordable, portable and easy-to-use offering that's both empowering and reliable – especially when it matters the most. We're proud to continue innovating products that prioritise human connection whilst still allowing people to switch-off. So, whether you're hiking in the mountains or skiing off-piste, HMD OffGrid ensures you're never truly off grid," said HMD CEO Jean-Francis Baril.

Meanwhile, with a steady stream of network, service and device launches, you could be forgiven for thinking the satellite sector is one great big party, but the music has most assuredly stopped for one provider.

Satellite operator Ligado Networks has filed for bankruptcy after its plan to offer terrestrial 5G connectivity via its L-band spectrum was scuppered by the US government.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave permission for Ligado to operate said services back in 2020. However, it was later blocked by the Department of Defence (DoD), which claimed that the service could cause interference due to the proximity of Ligado's frequencies to GPS, a claim that Ligado disputes.

The clock has now run out on Ligado. It has been forced to reach a deal with creditors representing 88% of its indebtedness that will convert $7.8 billion of its existing debt into equity.

Creditors have also agreed to cough up $115 million to keep the lights on during Ligado's restructuring, a process that will reduce its debt to $1.2 billion from $8.6 billion.

As part of the restructuring plan, Ligado has also agreed to provide AST SpaceMobile with long-term access to 45 MHz of its spectrum in return for some AST stock and $550 million once the transaction closes.

The additional spectrum will enable the SpaceMobile direct-to-device network to offer peak throughput of 120 Mbps, which could be a game changer.

"Adding premium lower mid-band spectrum access in the United States to the AST SpaceMobile network gives us long-term access to a large block of a scarce resource, significantly enhancing our planned space-based cellular broadband offering," said Abel Avellan, chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile.

As for Ligado, it is in the middle of suing the government for crushing its dreams, and it has every intention of seeing it through to the bitter end.

"Ligado will continue to vigorously prosecute its litigation against the US government to enforce its constitutional right to just compensation for the government's unlawful taking of Ligado's licensed L-band spectrum," said Ligado CEO Doug Smith.

"The DOD's actions constitute the largest uncompensated taking of private property in the US in modern times and have caused Ligado catastrophic financial distress," he said.

Sounds like someone might need to mash the SOS button.