- Spacex apparently wants to block GlobalStar’s access to some satellite frequencies
- Globalstar receives Apple funds to help expand iPhone satellite functions
- Apple and Spacex may have previously failed to reach an agreement on a collaboration
According to reports, Spacex and Apple by Elon Musk are in a dispute that could finally lead to irregular signals for services such as Starlink and iPhone satellite communications or a homogeneous monopolistic satellite service, none of which would be excellent for anyone.
The report comes from the Wall Street Journal (behind a Pay Wall) that says that sources familiar with the matter claim that Spacex is pressing US federal regulators not to allow the satellite service financed by Apple Globalstar expands its use of limited satellite radio frequencies.
This occurs after Spacex and Apple have been in conversations to collaborate more closely in Apple’s growing satellite communication service, but with conversations that end without direct treatment, on the other hand, Spacex and T-Mobile will be able to offer their alternative to Apple’s satellite service on iPhones (with the service due to the debut this summer).
Instead, Apple wants to trust the networks that are not from Spacex to support its own satellite communication functions, but if the Musk company comes out with its own, Apple can have difficulty expanding without the support of Spacex.
Reach the stars
As a rapid and simple explanation: all satellites send signals to the Earth using radio frequencies and, therefore, to guarantee the reliability of the service, many parts of the world will license specific frequencies within the radio spectrum in a regional way. This is to ensure that two companies with satellites that operate in the same place do not obtain their confused signals because they are trying to use the same frequency.
Spacex (or any other satellite company) would like to try to control as many as possible of these frequencies because it allows you to send more data or send data more quickly, which finally leads to a better service for your customers.
But a company that blocks too many frequencies in a region prevents other companies from offering satellite services there, leading to frustrating dead areas, or forces them to offer a worse service there because they can only use a limited frequency band. For consumers, I could also lead to price breaking, since the service with more (or total) satellite signal control can load what they want.
This last contest on satellite frequencies is probably not the last one, but highlights a problem with this important communication border.
Obtaining a reliable Internet and signal service to remote services can only be something good, as we have already seen in people who use the emergency sos of their iPhone through a satellite tool to ask for help when they had no other option, but if it is not handled carefully, we could end with an excessively fractured network or one that is controlled by a few who arrived first.
