One of the most important technology companies to ever exist is making a bet on something new: satellite networks.
What’s happening:
- Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has announced they will put $1.7B USD into Globalstar (NYSE: GSAT) for the development of a new large scale commercial satellite constellation
By the numbers:
- Apple will give Globalstar a prepayment of $1.1B USD to fund the development of a new mobile satellite constellation
- Apple will also give Globalstar $400M USD in exchange for 20% equity ownership of Globalstar’s subsidiary
- $232M USD will go directly towards reducing Globalstar’s existing debt
- 85% of the total capacity of the new satellite network will be exclusively dedicated to Apple devices once operational
Why it matters:
- The purpose of the new strategic investment from Apple is to meaningful scale up their satellite networks for connectivity for iPhones and enable messaging in geographic locations where there has previously been no cellular network coverage
Going deeper:
- Globalstar and Apple already have an existing partnership to use Globalstar’s satellites for emergency connectivity for iPhone users
- Satellites in low Earth orbit for connectivity purposes has become a major trend in the public markets, with Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) just recently pulling off another successful launch for a commercial partner and AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) previously launching their first five commercial satellites into space
