In the next"Far Out" Autumn ConferenceApple is expected to announce the addition of satellite networking and communication functions to the iPhone 14 series, allowing users to continue to connect to the Internet and communicate through satellite networks in locations where general base stations cannot provide signals smoothly. Chip manufacturers including Qualcomm and MediaTek have also announced that their processor products can meet satellite networking and communication needs. In addition, SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper are actively deploying low-orbit satellite networks. What is the purpose?
Satellite Internet communications are not new
In fact, connecting to the Internet through satellite communications is not an innovative service. The market has long had services for making calls and accessing the Internet through satellite communications. However, they are mostly used for emergency calls and Internet access needs in specific locations, such as mountain rescue or polar exploration. People usually carry a set of satellite phones to facilitate calling for help in emergencies. The Internet services provided on airplanes and cruise ships are actually transmitted via satellite, but they are relatively expensive and the transmission speed is slow. They are mostly used on long-distance flights to meet the temporary communication needs of business travelers.
Compared with the traditional base station operation mode, since the network signals are sent directly to the earth's surface through low-orbit satellites, it will be able to solve the problem that the construction and deployment range of traditional base stations are affected by geographical factors, resulting in some areas being unable to connect to the Internet smoothly.
However, due to the staggering cost of launching satellites in the past, coupled with the small number of satellites, the average bandwidth available per user was relatively small. This resulted in common satellite internet services being not only expensive but also having slow transmission speeds, making them unattractive to the public. However, with the continued advancement of private rocket technology and the lowering of the cost of launching satellites into low orbit, companies like Starlink and Kuiper are beginning to conceive of a new generation of satellite internet services, hoping to make such services the next popular model and drive greater network development opportunities.
Similar concepts have previously included large unmanned aircraft and high-altitude unmanned balloons, which also operate by staying at high altitudes for long periods of time and sending network signals downward. However, the network signals are sent through satellites in low orbits. Only one communication satellite in low orbit, rotating with the Earth, is needed to send a signal range that can cover approximately 42.4% of the Earth's surface. Approximately three satellites are needed to cover the entire world. To increase Internet bandwidth throughput, it is only necessary to increase the number of satellites or improve the data transmission bandwidth specifications of a single satellite. Therefore, the overall efficiency will be higher than that of large unmanned aircraft and high-altitude unmanned balloons.
However, even though the current sending cost is lower than before, it is still a considerable amount. In addition, some companies must cooperate with other rocket launch companies to send satellites into low orbit, so there is still a certain degree of difficulty. As a result, only a few companies are currently participating in the development competition.
Why is Apple investing in satellite communications applications?
From Apple's perspective, satellite communications are clearly one of its major future developments, especially with the future development of 5G network technology. Even in the drafting of future 6G network specifications, satellite networks have already been included in the scope of application. This means that satellite network communications will no longer be limited to emergency needs or specific application scenarios. Instead, they will become one of the main methods of network communication in the future, allowing more people to stay connected to the Internet at any time.
Therefore, for Apple, investing in satellite communication networking applications can not only connect to the subsequent 5G network and even the development of 6G network, but also help promote Apple's own network services. It can even integrate the emergency call application function that Apple has been promoting in the past, thereby strengthening the stickiness of iPhone users.
According to Apple's current development plan, generating profits through hardware is no longer the primary goal, but how to use hardware devices to drive profits from larger software services. Therefore, strengthening the networking functions of hardware such as the iPhone will be able to more effectively drive profits from Apple's software and services, and will also continue to drive the growth of the App Store market ecosystem.
Who else is joining the competition in the market?
Qualcomm has previously partnered with Ericsson and French aerospace company Thales to provide a more complete global 5G network service through satellites in the form of non-terrestrial networks, thereby allowing more areas where network services are difficult to build to have convenient network resources. In a recent IFA 2022 keynote speech, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon also revealed that the Snapdragon processor willAdd satellite communication connection functionIt is expected that further news will be announced at the Snapdragon Tech Summit technology conference to be held in November this year.
AndMediaTekIt also recently announced the completion of the world's first 5G NTN satellite mobile phone laboratory connection test, claiming that it will allow smartphones to access the Internet directly through satellite signals, allowing future 5G smartphones to be used as satellite phones and achieve an uninterrupted Internet connection experience through satellite signals.
As for Huawei, it has also revealed that the upcoming Mate 50 series will also add satellite networking function, but it is not yet certain how it will be implemented.
What are the current challenges?
Judging from the satellite internet service currently launched by Starlink, the actual upload and download speeds are almost as efficient as 4G LTE. However, the problem remains that the monthly service fees are still relatively high. At the same time, the number of satellites is still limited, and the initial Internet bandwidth is still susceptible to connection difficulties when there are too many people using it at the same time. Therefore, in the short term, it will mainly be used for commercial applications, and most consumers will probably still be accustomed to accessing the Internet through traditional base stations.
Apple has added satellite networking functionality to the new iPhone 14 series. It is not actually used to replace the existing mobile network Internet usage mode, but to connect to the areas beyond the coverage of the mobile network through satellite communication. It is positioned more like an auxiliary function, allowing users to still access the Internet through satellite signals in areas where they cannot connect to the Internet.
However, considering the current usage model, whether this service can be popularized depends not only on how Apple communicates with satellite network service providers, but also on how telecom operators and satellite network service providers negotiate the cost split between each other, so that users can use satellite network connection services through existing mobile network plans, such as the recent T-MobileCooperate with Starlink, allowing T-Mobile service plan users to directly use Starlink services to access the Internet.
