Among the many Apple announcements at the Cupertino event, one in particular caused a sensation: iPhone now has satellite connection. In fact with SOS Emergency via satellitewho has a smartphone Apple it can send emergency messages and more: something that would put the Apple in competition with SpaceX. In fact, just a few days ago Elon Musk’s company had announced a similar service of Starlink.
SOS Emergency via satellite puts Apple in competition with SpaceX
Apple has signed a partnership with Globestar to take advantage of its 24 satellites when there is no cellular coverage. A service that for the moment only works in Canadian and US territory, but which could expand.
But on August 26 StarlinkSpaceX’s satellite internet company, announced a deal with T-Mobile to achieve similar results. And “eliminate dead zonesWhich are not covered by cellular antennas.
Although the effort to enable such a service is onerous, there are many companies that are investing in the field. Like the startup Lynk Global, which is trying to build a global network that works for all smartphones, with no hardware changes needed. OR AST SpaceMobilewhich wants to make 4G or 5G work directly from space.
To handle all this competition, Apple appears to have invested 450 million dollars with Globastar, according to Reuters. And the Apple agreed to pay the 95% of the cost for new satellites. And according to analysts this means that by 2026 it will pay a cost of 50 million per year for the service.
But this could be just the beginning. The satellite communication market is of interest to Apple and it is no coincidence that SpaceX anticipated the timing of the announcement to beat the Apple with the times. Soon we will be able to see similar services also offered by other companies, launching a new potential market.