(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)
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As SpaceX pursues cellular satellite connectivity on par with 4G LTE, Apple partner Globalstar is preparing to upgrade its own capabilities.
On Monday, Globalstar announced that it's tapping a satellite application it filed years ago to bolster the company’s mobile satellite services, which are used by Apple, among others. The application involves a constellation called HIBLEO-XL-1, which would join Globalstar’s existing plan to create another next-generation satellite network called C-3 using over $1 billion in funding from Apple.
The big difference is that C-3 only spans 48 satellites designed to operate in low-Earth orbit. In contrast, Globalstar’s application for the HIBLEO-XL-1 in Europe entailed sending up to 3,080 satellites into LEO.
Although details are vague, the company said in the announcement: “The HIBLEO-XL-1 system, filed through France, includes numerous additional satellites, orbital shells, and frequency bands, including not only its currently licensed L, S, and C-band frequencies but also additional MSS bands for mobile uplink and downlink as well as additional feeder-link spectrum.”
In other words, the additional radio bands and satellites promise to offer even better coverage and speeds for satellite services meant for phones. Globalstar didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, making it unclear where the funding will come from. But the news might be a response to rival SpaceX, which reached a $17 billion deal last week to acquire radio spectrum from EchoStar, with the precise goal of upgrading its competing cellular Starlink service.
Currently, the cellular Starlink through T-Mobile supports satellite-powered text messaging and data to select a group of mobile apps, giving users a way to remain connected in cellular dead zones. But with the EchoStar spectrum, SpaceX says it can unleash even more capabilities to the point that the cellular Starlink service will offer an experience similar to 4G LTE.
Still, it’ll take at least two years before SpaceX can properly harness the EchoStar spectrum, which requires launching new satellites and rolling out radio band support in new smartphone chipsets. Hence, it’s possible that Globalstar is wasting no time in trying to respond by bolstering its own radio spectrum use.
“If successfully deployed, this would increase Globalstar’s current 25.75 MHz of spectrum by a factor of nearly five,” said a satellite industry analyst who preferred to go unnamed. The only problem is that Globalstar likely wants to harness radio bands already in use, including those from players such as Viasat, Thuraya, AST SpaceMobile, and EchoStar.
“Without negotiating spectrum-sharing or leasing agreements with these incumbents, Globalstar would be effectively blocked from deploying services in these ranges. The company is therefore likely betting on its ability to strike such deals —a strategy that carries considerable regulatory and commercial risk,” the analyst added.
In the meantime, Apple has decided to make the satellite services on the iPhones free at least for another year. The satellite connectivity can let you message friends and family and reach emergency services if you're ever in a cellular dead zone.