Globalstar, the satellite operator that powers Apple emergency text messages, is blazing a new path for 5G: high-flying drones that provide wireless service over a far larger area than even the best cell towers. In recent US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filings the company asked for experimental permission to fly a “prototype wireless HAPS” carrying 5G traffic on a “highly-mobile platform system” that uses the 2.4GHz airwaves it already owns.
The proposed tests will fly an uncrewed aircraft of long endurance between about 3,000 and 60,000 feet and operate in the 5G Band n53 — the band of spectrum that Apple’s hardware has supported since the iPhone 14. The test isn’t a commercial rollout, but it does point to a future in which unmodified smartphones could access aerial 5G to fill in rural white spaces and re-establish coverage after disasters strike.
Why HAPS for 5G Band n53
SUB 6Ghz 5G band : 2.5 – 7 GHz HAPS, as a provider of a deployed wireless network, is in a unique position to provide network coverage for terrestrial users in a wide variety of environments The 5G NR standard is defined by 3GPP and creates an opportunity to expand its order of standard definition, including 5G evolution of the HAPS concept.
HAPS must combine the wide reach of satellites with the low latency and device compatibility of terrestrial networks. Working in the stratosphere, such platforms can for “see” a wide swathe with line-of-sight connection with very few blockages, making them ideal for relatively empty terrains where masts are rare or unfeasible.
Band n53 is in the 2.4GHz spectrum, which coverages better than the other two investments up close and at a distance, especially from above. Since n53 is already supported in current flagships, such as recent iPhones, the technique sidesteps custom handsets — a major stonewall that had tripped up previous non-terrestrial attempts.
Inside Globalstar’s Proposed Test
Globalstar says it will use XCOM RAN technology on an ultra-long endurance uncrewed aircraft built by a “major aviation company.” It would use 2×2 MIMO for 5G/LTE with two antennas with the airborne radio unit, to generate service for a circular coverage area of about 20 miles, or approximately 1,250 square miles per platform.
The company casts the trial as an engineering validation in an “operationally relevant environment,” with objectives that include validating the performance of the radios, managing interference and mobility. The filing calls for a six-month test window and stresses the system wouldn’t carry commercial traffic during the experiment.
An open question is backhaul: HAPS need a fat pipe to the core network. Commercial implementations can be back the ground station equipment by long distance microwave or optical links, or satellite relay. The filing doesn’t describe the backhaul architecture, but the throughput and latency goals will depend on the type of backhaul utilized.
Aerial Connectivity’s Next Chapter
There’s precedent—and cautionary tales. Alphabet’s Project Loon, which delivered LTE using stratospheric balloons, shut down over economics. Meta’s Project Aquila worked on solar-powered planes with similar ambitions but was dismantled. At the other end of the scale, Airbus subsidiary AALTO HAPS announced that its Zephyr platform has been flying in the stratosphere for an endurance record measured in months, showing that high altitude operations were possible over the long haul.
More analogous to the planes that Globalstar might use is what Insituhellip;The Boeing Companyhellip;p Insights
closer to the aircraft category is that Insitu (a Boeing company) has shown off long-endurance drones like the Integrator Extended Range, which supports satcom links, can fly for a full day at 20,000 feet.m/> has a long line of, such as the Integrator Extended Range, which support satcom links, can fly missions lasting a full day, all from 20,000 feet in altitude. The Globalstar filing does not identify a supplier, but the high-endurance UAS market has been rapidly taking shape.
What It Could Mean for IPhones and Carriers
Globalstar is already heavily linked to Apple, which pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to the operator’s satellite infrastructure for iPhone emergency messaging. If HAPS over n53 proves out, these very same devices could also get bog-standard 5G service from above—no satellite modems needed—so long as carriers or their partners integrate n53 roaming and core network interfaces.
The direct use cases are obvious: quickly restoring coverage in the wake of hurricanes or wildfires; temporary capacity for big events; and filling in broadband in rural areas where fiber or towers would be too expensive. One platform’s 20-mile radius should be wide enough to blanket a small county or several towns, but capacity will need to be engineered carefully so as not to produce congestion.
Economics and Engineering Hurdles
HAPS effectiveness depends on a triad of cost, endurance, and capacity. There’s a tick-tock business model cycle where airframe longevity and energy systems dictate operating expense; smart beamforming and spectrum reuse dictate how many users can be entertained; and integration down the road while already integrated, is the real stinging tail is in the form of terrestrial cores. The economics that doomed Loon are less prohibitive now, thanks to more efficient airframes, lighter radios and standardized NTN specs — but they’re still key.
Regulatory approvals will also influence the timelines. Step 4: In addition to FCC’s spectrum authorization requirements, mere high-altitude operations would implicate aviation regulators for beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, airspace deconfliction and safety. Operation in interference coordinates with adjacent bands at 2,4GHZ, such a busy neighborhood, requires therefore planning on RF.
With those caveats, the direction is clear: bridging the last coverage gaps is going to involve layers — towers, small cells, satellites and now perhaps drones cruising above the weather. If Globalstar’s test proves out performance on n53, aerial 5G that talks to the common phone could go from drawing board to playbook and speed the way carriers build resilient, everywhere networks.
