The latest telecom news includes announcements on Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell satellite communication, Unplugged, CDIL, among others.
CDIL semiconductor project
Continental Device India (CDIL), a 60-year-old pioneer in semiconductor manufacturing, has received approval under the Cabinet’s ₹4,600 crore India Semiconductor Mission to expand its Mohali facility for producing high-power discrete devices, including MOSFETs, IGBTs, Schottky Bypass Diodes, and transistors in both Silicon and Silicon Carbide. Since 1964, CDIL has supplied high-reliability semiconductor devices to organizations such as ISRO, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, HAL, and BEL. The company, with a manufacturing capacity exceeding 750 million units, was the first in India to produce Silicon and Silicon Carbide devices, and recently introduced the country’s first indigenous Solar Bypass Diodes alongside a partnership with Infineon Technologies for advanced power semiconductor packaging. With the ISM approval, CDIL plans to increase its annual capacity from 600 million to over 760 million units, reinforcing its focus on Silicon and Silicon Carbide chips while advancing India’s self-reliance in the global semiconductor industry.
Ukraine Trials Starlink Direct-to-Cell, Connecting Phones Straight to Satellites
Ukraine has tested Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell satellite communication service in partnership with Kyivstar, sending text messages from smartphones directly via satellite without additional devices, using existing 4G phones with SIM or eSIM. The messages were exchanged between Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov and Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov. The technology enables satellites to act as cell towers, providing mobile connectivity in areas without terrestrial network coverage. Starlink plans to launch the messaging service in Ukraine in late 2025, followed by data broadband services in early 2026. Direct-to-Cell is part of a global rollout involving telecom operators in the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Unplugged to Begin UP Phone Assembly in Nevada
Unplugged will start assembling its UP Phone in Nevada this fall, shifting part of production from Indonesia to the United States. The smartphone will be priced at $989. Initial operations will focus on assembly, with plans to source components locally in the future. The partner facility is a former electronics refurbisher adding assembly lines. Production will run in smaller, steady batches rather than annual model launches. The 2025 UP Phone keeps the same hardware as the 2024 version but introduces a redesigned interface, new camera software, and a firewall dashboard. It includes a one-year subscription to a software sauite with a tracker-blocking firewall, VPN, and encrypted photo storage, followed by a monthly fee. Shipments are expected in late September, Reuters reports.
TelecomLead.com News Desk
