Far, Far, Away – The Future of Satellite Phones
The next evolutionary jump for smartphones has commenced, planning to disrupt the nearly $500 billion industry. Satellite-based 5G technology will be coming to smartphones across the globe, but the question of when is still unanswerable. Issues with service, connectivity, and messaging have plagued both consumers and the big players in the smartphone industry. With the current land-based cell phone towers, only a limited amount of the globe can be covered by cellular networks. With satellites, this problem can be solved, but it is quite costly.
Apple has made headlines recently after partnering with the satellite company Globalstar in an agreement that will give Apple 85% of its network capacity at a cost of $230 million. Iridium Communications, Globalstar’s large competitor, also has developed a smartphone-capable service with an unnamed partner. SpaceX and T-Mobile have also planned to initiate their service next year, with SpaceX’s Starlink satellites being able to cover any wireless dead zones T-Mobile currently has. Although satellite-based smartphone technology has been out for two decades, companies are now pursuing to integrate the technology into their own ecosystems, a decision that would create a service worth an estimated $20 billion a year in the U.S. alone.
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I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
