This information appeared on the excellent Megaconstellations twitter account (see link below). A message from Swarm to its customers explained that it is stopping sales of its VHF devices, however supporting the existing deployments. With information on a possible resume, one can only assume that this is definitive. The message concludes with “SpaceX’s Direct to Cell network that will provide exciting future IoT offering” and with the launche of a future Swarm LTE modem.
It seems that the future IoT service will be provided through the Starlink V2 constellation and it is probably a first step of the agreement with T-Mobile US to complement satellite in service in areas without cellulat coverage. The question remains open is Starlink will be used to offer some kinf of global IoT or M2M connectivity. It would make sense as IoT, in the end, is just another way for operators to monetize part of their spectrum at a higher cost per bit. As usual with Starlink, we will only know when the product is launched, all the rest is presuppositions or the usual Elon marketing…
The Megaconstellations twitter account.
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