Apple ramps up satellite investment stakes with latest Globalstar deal
Apple’s $1.5 billion investment in Globalstar marks a significant milestone in the realm of satellite connectivity for consumer devices. By expanding its partnership with Globalstar, Apple has solidified its position as a leader in satellite services, surpassing other Western OEMs in terms of both scale and scope.
This strategic move could potentially disrupt the plans of traditional carriers, who are also exploring direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity. Apple’s investment enables it to offer more advanced satellite services, including expanded emergency messaging and potentially data and voice services, while carriers may face challenges in competing with Apple’s scale and resources.
GlobalData Technology via Verdict:
While T-Mobile US and SpaceX may have gotten the D2D furor started for many with a splashy August 2022 announcement event featuring T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (the latter of whom doubles as a perpetual headline generator), that was also the last time one of the US carriers beat Apple to the post on anything related to D2D satellite capability.
Apple was next into the D2D satellite news cycle in September 2022 when the device heavyweight confirmed that the iPhone 14 would offer Emergency SOS via satellite, but importantly, the US tech giant was offering something functional – albeit exceedingly bare-bones – to iPhone 14 users by November 2022. Furthermore, despite Apple’s satellite capabilities not evolving to basic text capabilities until the release of iOS 18 in September 2024 – and even then only in the US – Apple remains out in front of carrier D2D offerings.
As carriers’ commercial D2D efforts clear red-tape and deployment hurdles, Apple hopes to keep its foot on the accelerator. Notably, its expanding investment comes shortly after Globalstar passed a regulatory hurdle of its own, as the FCC granted Globalstar a 15-year license extension to operate 26 replacement satellites for its HIBLEO-4 constellation in August 2024.
This is also a much-needed capital infusion to help keep Globalstar upright while the satellite company forges ahead with its expensive constellation work. Apple’s $1.1bn infrastructure prepayment will hit Globalstar’s coffers on a quarterly basis throughout the construction period. Furthermore, the $400m garnered for Apple’s new 20% equity stake will go toward reducing Globalstar’s debt burden.
MacDailyNews Take: So far, Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite and Messages via satellite remain free for users of compatible iPhones.
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