Apple sinks $1.1 billion into Globalstar’s satellite network, takes ownership stake
If you had any idea that satellite connectivity isn’t a key part of Apple’s strategy, well, the company’s satellite partner Globalstar has disclosed changes to its deal with Apple, including a new influx of $1.1 billion from Apple tied to capital improvements, and $400 million in equity, which gives Apple a 20-percent stake in the company.
That is quite a bit of money, but it’s not necessarily a huge surprise. There aren’t that many companies around with these kind of capabilities and by locking down an investment in Globalstar, Apple ensures bandwidth and access.1
Apple’s been offering satellite connectivity since the introduction of the iPhone 14 line in 2022, which debuted with the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature. At the time Apple said it would be offering two free years of service, though it later extended that by a year. Alongside the introduction of the iPhone 15 line, it added Roadside Assistance capabilities; this year, it added Messages via Satellite. All these features are under the same aegis.
Apple has never said what these features might cost after the expiration of the initial free period. The company’s been content to kick that can down the road—the latest expansion of this deal suggests that it might be happy to kick that can right into orbit. It’s gotten a whole lot of good publicity on the back of the Emergency SOS Satellite feature, not infrequently highlighting the lifesaving stories it’s enabled. It’s hard to imagine it would ever want to be in a position of dealing with a scenario in which somebody’s life could have been saved if only they’d paid Apple for the feature.
The real question is what additional features might be enabled by the improvements to Globalstar’s infrastructure: true satellite calling? Globalstar already offers some plans for that, as do competitors. FaceTime via Satellite? (Bandwidth and latency would seem to be real challenges there.) Perhaps even general internet access?
It still seems most likely to me that Apple will eventually offer tiers of these, perhaps bundled along with its Apple One subscription, leaving some features like Emergency SOS free, while others will cost an additional fee. But Apple seems confident enough that adding these capabilities are helping sell iPhones, and for the moment, that seems to be enough for it to keep investing.
- It also helps ensure Globalstar can continue to hold its own against one of its major competitors, Elon Musk’s Starlink. ↩
[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His latest novel, the sci-fi spy thriller The Armageddon Protocol, is out now.]
If you appreciate articles like this one, support us by becoming a Six Colors subscriber. Subscribers get access to an exclusive podcast, members-only stories, and a special community.