Satphones have been around for more than 25 years. iridium was the first one to launch a ssatellite constellation for the purpose.Yeah, apparently Elon is developing a phone for around $750-800 that connects to satellites and you would never have to pay for service or internet. Obviously, he’s facing loads of resistance from big companies.
Satphones that are feasible for the average person to get and operate... Now that would be something to see!
After the market is saturated with phones and nobody is buying them anymore, I wonder how are they going to pay for satellite upkeep?