Apple launched the iPhone 14 with Emergency SOS via satellite service allowing a user to send and receive text messages over Globalstar satellites (here). The direct satellite-to-handset service operates over Globalstar Gen2 satellites which will start to expire by 2025. Apple will incur costs in excess of $400 million to fund Globalstar launch 17 new satellites by the end of 2025 and deploy new ground stations to support the service. Apple will reserve 85% of capacity on the Globalstar network and receive consent rights over the spectrum. Globalstar will abandon their voice services to make capacity available.
How it Works
This direct satellite-to-handset service is unique as it makes use of existing satellites designed as relays for WCDMA. The media reports that the service is based on Band 53 between 2483.5 – 2495 MHz (S-band). This is half-truth: it is only for the user downlink path which what this spectrum is licensed for. The user uplink is still served over the L-band. This has implications on system capacity and performance, aside from what technologies the phone supports.
Enterprise Private Networks
In 2016, Globalstar secured FCC approval to operate terrestrial networks in their S-band spectrum. Globalstar now has additional approvals in Canada, Brazil, South Africa and a few other African countries to deploy terrestrial networks. The combination of direct satellite-to-handset service coupled with terrestrial enterprise networks opens new revenue opportunities for Globalstar and potentially for Apple, especially those related to IoT.
A Threat to Mobile Network Operators?
The Globalstar-Apple direct satellite-to-handset works on spectrum independent of mobile network operators. MNOs would perceive it as a competitive threat, even in its nascent form. This explains the rushed partnership between T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a couple of weeks ago (here). Not to be outdone, Google announced that Android would support this function (here); Huawei announced text service over the Beidou constellation (here), and OneWeb said it’s experimenting with 5G in space (here).
But what amplifies the competitive threat to MNOs are terrestrial enterprise private wireless networks. Different ecosystem players such as cable operators could benefit from Gobalstar’s terrestrial spectrum adding further competitive pressure on MNOs.
More in the Insight Note
Our Xona Partners Insight Note has much more data and analysis; if interested in the details, you can download it here:
