Starlink moves conflict with Apple’s satellite strategy
Jon Brodkin of Ars Technica reports about how Elon Musk’s satellite broadband ambitions are clashing with Apple’s current strategy:
Apple is partnering with satellite company Globalstar for the iPhone’s emergency SOS feature. The service is free to iPhone users, at least for now. Apple declined a pitch from [Elon] Musk, who reportedly sought a $5 billion payment from the iPhone maker in exchange for an 18-month exclusivity deal.
There’s some internal frustration at Apple about Globalstar’s limited capabilities compared to Starlink, according to a May report by The Information. The concerns are that the Globalstar network is “outdated, slow, and limited in what features it can support compared with offerings from SpaceX and others.”
Brodkin’s piece is a good deep dive into the issues here. With SpaceX’s purchase of spectrum from EchoStar, and SpaceX’s enormous advantage in launching satellites (the entire Starlink business is built on SpaceX’s fleet of cheap, reusable rockets), it may be tough for competitors to keep up. Which has an impact on Apple’s strategy when it comes to providing access outside of traditional cellular networks.