What you need to know
- Xfinity and Spectrum Mobile are planning to give their customers satellite messaging on select Android phones “in the coming weeks.”
- At launch, only the Samsung Galaxy S25 and the Google Pixel 9 lineups are supported.
- The move follows Verizon’s introduction of satellite messaging on those same devices yesterday, in an industry first.
Both the Samsung Galaxy S25 and the Google Pixel 9 series support satellite connectivity, and major U.S. cellular carriers are gearing up to offer free satellite messaging for users of those models. Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum are both planning to offer satellite texting for customers “in the coming weeks” with a Galaxy S25 or Pixel 9. The move comes just one day after Verizon became the first carrier to offer the service.
The announcement reveals that Charter Communications and Comcast, which operate Xfinity and Spectrum Mobile respectively, are partnering with Skylo to deliver satellite messaging. The new functionality will give customers the “ability to send and receive SMS text messages over satellite service” and is “expected to be added in the coming weeks,” per the company.
For now, satellite messaging appears to be limited to the Galaxy S25 lineup and the Pixel 9 series. Verizon’s offering only applies to those models, and the same goes for Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum’s planned service.
The satellite messaging capabilities that will soon be offered by Spectrum and Xfinity Mobile will allow customers to text any number when Wi-Fi and cellular is unavailable using overhead satellites. This is in addition to the existing “Satellite SOS” feature offered by Google, which is only available in an emergency.
Spectrum and Xfinity Mobile aren’t offering satellite messaging for iPhone users, but they might not need it as much as Android users. Starting with iOS 18, Apple offers free satellite messaging for users with an iPhone 14 or newer. Even though Samsung and Google sell phones capable of satellite connectivity, they’ve opted to leave it up to the cellular carriers to provide the feature with their own non-terrestrial network (NTN) service providers.
“The availability of satellite backup service provides Spectrum Mobile customers with a sense of security, knowing they can stay connected even in the most remote locations,” said Danny Bowman, who is the executive vice president of product at Charter Communications, in a press release.
