Lynk Global claimed it remained firmly on track to light the world’s first commercial space-based cell tower this year following the deployment of its latest satellite, its first covered by a US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) operating licence.

The company stated the deployment and initial in-orbit checks of Lynk Tower 1 positioned it to hit its commercial launch goal. The satellite is the sixth launched by Lynk Global, but the FCC licence enables it to offer global mobile connectivity.

Lynk Global CEO and co-founder Charles Miller stated the latest achievement puts the company “months away” from solving “the world’s zero-G problem” by closing what it claims is a 90 per cent gap in mobile coverage of the planet’s surface.

During MWC Barcelona 2022, Miller told Mobile World Live the company had agreed deals with eight operators and aimed to add four more by the time it commenced commercial services.

Lynk Global’s point of differentiation to other satellite services is it works with existing mobile devices rather than requiring specialist handsets.

The company stated Lynk Tower 1 offers “improvements in power systems, reaction wheels, star trackers, Ka-band radios” and the “base station software stack” compared with its previous satellites.