No Signal? This Satellite Network Wants to Fix That—For Cars First

Update April 23, 2026: Univity just closed a €27 million funding round with Blast, Expansion, and the Deeptech 2030 fund managed on behalf of the French State by Bpifrance as part of France 2030, alongside two family offices.

The demand for constant connectivity is an ever increasing one, but there are places on earth where building cellular broadcast towers just isn’t practical or economically viable and may never be. And sure, Starlink satellites already exist, but from 340 miles up in the sky, they struggle to connect to the tiny, low-power antennas of a cell phone. Satellites orbiting lower need less power to connect, so French satcom startup Univity is proposing a constellation of very-low-Earth-orbit (VLEO) satellites just 230 miles up. Might that keep your AI digital assistant chattering as you navigate through Big Bend, Death Valley, or Glacier National Parks (each a notorious cellular dead zone).

Is 230 Miles a Sweet Spot?

Starlink and a bunch of other communications satellites occupy the “low-Earth orbit” (LEO) zone where the atmosphere is so wispy it doesn’t slow the satellite down and threaten to decay its orbit, but from this height it must broadcast its signal with about twice as much power to connect with devices on the ground, thus services like T-Mobile Band 71 can only kind of handle SMS text messaging via “Direct to Cell” service.

From Univity’s VLEO vantage point, the atmosphere will degrade its satellites’ orbits, so they must expend propulsive force to stay aloft. Their planned ION-X HALO-MAX propulsion motors expend propellant, which they must bring with them from launch, with the understanding that after seven years the satellite will run out of fuel, its orbit will decay and it’ll need replacing. But the tradeoff is deemed worthwhile and allows its constellation to serve as a 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN).

See All 7 Photos7

Best Bet: Satellite-2-Vehicle

That said, the point is not to enable Instagram uploads of your National Park pics directly from your phone. Any such link would still be limited to S-band text and limited voice service. Rather, you’ll be uploading them via your car’s Wi-Fi, which leverages a larger, more powerful roof-mounted antenna that can more robustly connect to the still very distant satellite. And while we’re at it, note that Univity won’t market to customers directly—it will contract with automakers, cellular service providers, and users in the fleet tracking, agriculture, energy infrastructure, maritime, and remote industrial businesses, etc. Your car’s parent company may contract for telematics connectivity to keep “ground truth” data coming to feed the large-driving-model “data flywheel” that enables its autonomous driving modes. Oh, and cars will need a new unique 6x6-inch or so antenna integrated into its roof communications array.

See All 7 Photos7

Satellite Design

Because they’re designed to bounce along the outer atmosphere, Univity’s satellites are designed to have a good ballistic coefficient—that’s mass divided by the drag-area (Cd x A)—so dense and heavy, but presenting a slim and slick profile to the atmosphere. Target weight is 1,100 pounds in a shape about 10 inches tall by 10 feet wide by 13 feet long. Solar panels should generate enough electricity per day to meet the communications and stationkeeping needs while topping up the 5–6-kWh battery pack.

See All 7 Photos7

Ground Uplink

Univity envisions placing its own two-foot-square uplink antennas on existing towers to beam content to the satellites, with laser optical interlinking allowing the satellite constellation to transfer data between themselves.

See All 7 Photos7

These are specs for the earlier Halo-100X, Univity will use the Halo-MAX thruster.

Electrospray Thruster Propulsion

The ION-X thrusters Univity is using employ an ionic “liquid salt” type fluid. By applying a strong electric field to nanoscale emitters, ions are extracted from the liquid and accelerated to very high velocity, creating thrust as they depart. This thrust is extremely precise, and exceptionally efficient: their specific impulse (Isp, which means thrust produced per unit weight of propellant used) is 5,000 seconds. That tells you how many seconds a unit of propellant can produce its own weight in thrust. An impressive number that explains how it manages to keep the satellite aloft for seven years on a few pounds of salt water.

See All 7 Photos7

A French Ariane rocket lifts off from The <strong>Guiana Space Centre</strong> also called Europe’s Spaceport.

Launch Plan

Note that since these satellites are neither geosynchronous nor geostationary, there’s no way to put a few up and serve a particular region like Europe or the U.S.A. There will therefore be a phased roll-out. UniSpark, a single satellite, has launched as a proof of concept. Next up will be UniShape, a two-satellite demonstrator system likely to launch in 2027, with the planned UniSky constellation of 1,500 satellites scheduled to begin launching in 2028 with the constellation completed by the end of the decade.

American drivers can expect Univity to offer automakers yet another avenue for uniform connectivity to ensure hands-free driving and entertainment in the farthest flung corners of the planet. And for everyone still waiting for 5G and/or internet service to reach their unspoiled paradise, Univity could prove to be the most viable option—if a lot of pieces fall perfectly into place over the next few years and if LEO players like Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, OQ Technology, or Eutelsat don’t beat them to it.

See All 7 Photos7