For satellite communication that can achieve external communication without mobile networks or Wi Fi signals, Apple has invested heavily in this technology.
Recently, Globalstar, a low Earth orbit satellite communication company in the United States, announced that Apple has committed to investing $1.5 billion in the company through capital injection and promised to purchase services. At the same time, Apple has also disclosed this investment, stating that it has pre paid $1.1 billion in infrastructure fees to Globalstar, of which $232 million will be used to repay Globalstar's existing debts.
It is reported that Apple also spent $400 million to acquire a 20% stake in Globalstar. Globalstar said that it would continue to provide about 85% of the satellite Internet transmission capacity to Apple. A reporter from China Business Daily noticed that Apple has long had dealings with Globalstar, and since the launch of the iPhone's emergency satellite messaging feature in 2022, the former has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the latter.
The business relationship between Globalstar and Apple is not just a simple commercial cooperation, but also a deep strategic synergy, "Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told reporters. The cooperation between the two sides will jointly promote the popularization and application of satellite communication technology in consumer electronics products.
Ma Jihua, a senior analyst in the communications industry, told the reporter that Apple's increased investment in satellite communications companies had "no significant impact" on similar companies in Globalstar, but "this is the first mobile phone company to participate in the construction and operation of communications networks through capital injection, which may also indicate that the era of satellite communications Internet is coming, and terminal manufacturers will have more opportunities to participate in network operations".
From struggling to being caught by Apple
What kind of company is Globalstar? Why was it chosen by Apple?
According to Globalstar's positioning, it is a satellite IoT solution provider established in 1991 as a joint venture between Loral and Qualcomm. It launched its first satellite in 1998 and began providing commercial services in 2000, with a total of 48 satellites and 4 backup satellites.
Around the same time, Motorola in the United States launched the "Iridium Project" and established Iridium Corporation. However, due to the high commercial operating costs of satellite communication, Globalstar and Iridium went bankrupt almost at the same time during the first round of development. After undergoing bankruptcy restructuring, Globalstar resumed operations in 2004 and subsequently conducted its initial public offering in 2006. From 2010 to 2013, Globalstar fully resumed service after launching 24 second-generation satellites.
However, the commercialization of Globalstar has not shown any improvement. In 2017, the gears of fate began to turn when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved Globalstar to use its 2.4GHz frequency band for 5G ground communication; Three years later, the international standard setting organization 3GPP also approved the n53 frequency band (which belongs to the broad 2.4GHz frequency band) for 5G communication.
In February 2021, Qualcomm announced that its 5G flagship X65 modem would use Globalstar's n53 new frequency band. This news completely reversed the fate of Globalstar. According to relevant reports and statistics, Globalstar's stock price remained below $1 in 2019 and 2020, stabilizing within the 30 cent range in 2020 before rapidly climbing in 2021.
It was also after Globalstar authorized the n53 frequency band to Qualcomm that rumors of cooperation between Apple and Globalstar emerged. In September 2022, Apple and Globalstar collaborated to provide users with a satellite messaging service called "Emergency SOS", which allows iPhone 14 series models to send messages in areas that traditional cellular networks cannot cover. With the iteration of the iOS system, Apple has added features such as exchanging messages and sharing locations with friends and family to this service.
Regarding the cooperation with Globalstar, Apple announced on its official website in November 2022 that it would allocate $450 million to develop critical infrastructure to support satellite emergency distress (SOS) services, with the majority of this $450 million funding going to Globalstar.
Affected by the news of Apple's $1.5 billion investment in Globalstar, Globalstar's stock price rose by over 40% at the opening on November 1st, and ultimately closed up 31.43%.
It is worth mentioning that when the "Emergency SOS" service was launched in 2022, Apple stated that the service would be provided for free for two years. This means that the first batch of users were supposed to start paying at the end of this year, but Apple has extended the free period until 2025.
Globalstar is considered one of the earliest companies to enter the field of Earth orbit satellite communication and achieve commercial success. It has been operating since twenty years ago and is still an important member of the industry. However, its user development is limited, profitability is insufficient, and operating pressure is high. Ma Jihua pointed out that Apple's investment can obviously improve the company's finances to a large extent.
Can we stand firm after receiving strong support again?
According to the agreement between the two parties, Apple will spend $400 million to acquire a 20% stake in Globalstar. In addition, Apple will also make a cash advance of $1.1 billion to Globalstar for the construction of a new satellite network and to alleviate the latter's debt burden.
According to foreign media reports, Globalstar has awarded a $327 million contract to Canadian MDA Space to produce 17 new satellites and potentially add up to 9 new satellites to enhance its network capacity. And these new satellites are planned to be launched by SpaceX in 2025.
At present, the emergency SOS satellite communication service, which is a collaboration between Apple and Globalstar, is mainly used to provide basic SMS functions and has not yet achieved coverage for voice and network services. Regarding this collaboration, Globalstar has stated that they will continue to allocate approximately 85% of their network capacity to Apple to ensure the stability and reliability of their services.
This actually indicates that Globalstar's customer development is problematic. If it can attract a large number of other customers, it will not sign up most of its traffic to one company, which carries great risks. Independent telecommunications analyst Fu Liang told reporters that there are few satellite communication service providers, and traffic should not be bound to a few customers.
However, it should be noted that although satellite communication has long existed, it is difficult to enter the lives of ordinary people. The bankruptcy and restructuring of related companies cannot change the bleak business situation without relying on large customers to survive first.
In the view of Guo Zhengbiao, the initiator of Sat5G satellite communication standards and founder of WorldSpace, although Globalstar provides low-speed services, fortunately the entire system is relatively mature. This also provides a reference for telecom operators and even mobile phone manufacturers, that building their own constellation system can also maintain operation, "he pointed out.
Ma Jihua also pointed out that Globalstar has a constellation system, which can be upgraded and replaced in the future. With the support of Apple, there is still great potential. In recent years, Apple has been hesitant in many innovative aspects of smartphones. In terms of artificial intelligence, it now has to rely on OpenAI. In the case of lagging behind China's main competitors in satellite communication, it also needs to adopt cooperation or acquisition strategies to quickly make up for its shortcomings, "he said.
Technically speaking, the Globalstar system is actually an extension of the terrestrial mobile communication system, based on CDMA satellite forwarding signals, and is not the same as the currently popular Starlink Ma Jihua also pointed out that currently, Musk's Starlink in the United States has a relatively mature and large-scale user base, and China has at least three low orbit satellite constellation projects rapidly catching up.
In addition to Globalstar, there are also players in the low orbit satellite market such as SpaceX, AST SpaceMobile, Iridium Mobile Communications, Lynk Global, and Echo Communications. Ma Jihua pointed out that Apple's reinvestment in Globalstar will not have much impact on companies of the same type as Globalstar at present. Apple is only laying out in the field of satellite communication and making up for its shortcomings.
Globalstar has a small number of satellites, making it difficult to provide high-capacity, high bandwidth, and low latency communication services. It needs to be upgraded or replaced, otherwise its competitiveness will decline and it will lose its market, "Ma Jihua analyzed.