Galaxy S26 series launch is probably happening next month. They’ll debut three devices during the Galaxy Unpacked event, and each handset has passed the FCC certification in the USA. The listing revealed something we weren’t counting on to appear this early: Satellite Communication.
They aren’t exactly opening satellite communication in the same way Infinix plans to. Infinix Note 60 series will feature a peer-to-peer free-for-all call and text service via satellite. The Galaxy S26 lineup will probably keep it limited to emergency services.
The Galaxy S26 devices can make calls or texts with no cellular coverage. It’s a formulaic service that Apple has had for a while. FCC certification has listed the satellite connection for Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. And yes, all three showed up with individual listings in the database.
Samsung new flagship model appeared as A3LSMS942U on the regulatory platform. The S26+ was addressed as A3LSMS947U, and the S26 Ultra was onboarded as model A3LSMS948U. This certification itself doesn’t exactly guarantee that satellite service will roll out outside the US market.
At least they are putting satellite communication on both carrier-locked and factory-unlocked models. By the way, the files reveal that all Galaxy S26 siblings will have the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chips. And each handset has support up to 5G NR (mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G).
If you go looking at the FCC files yourself, there’s Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) in the network category. They work together to establish a connection with Skylo’s existing satellite link for basic smartphones.
Again, it will only work where Skylo already has coverage, so the satellite feature on the Galaxy S26 series will have a very limited availability. The rest of the stuff isn’t new at all. These newcomers will have WiFi 7, Bluetooth LE, and Ultra Wideband (UWB). Keep watching the news for more updates.