An old feud flared up again — SpaceX and Apple quarreled over satellite internet.
WSJ writesthat Elon Musk’s space company is «pressuring the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block Apple’s plans to expand its satellite messaging service to the iPhone.
Apple’s Emergency SOS satellite service was first launched for iPhone 14 back in 2022 and allowed sending messages to emergency services in parts of the country where there is no mobile coverage. In the following years, the feature became standard on newer models and expanded to include messages for contacts.
Apple has secured a satellite service through a partnership with Globalstar and last year provided the company with more than $1 billion for its expansion (Apple also owns a 20% stake in the company through a $400 million investment deal). Obviously, this will require more radio frequencies, so Globalstar has applied to the FCC for permission, which SpaceX is currently trying to block. In its own application, Musk’s company says that the frequency band used to transmit emergency signals to Apple users is an underutilized resource.
Initially, both SpaceX and Globalstar discussed providing the iPhone with direct access to satellite communications, but so far Apple has preferred the latter — although it has allowed access to T-Mobile satellite mobile communications, which uses Starlink.
Obviously, Musk’s close relationship with the White House and the regulators could give SpaceX a significant advantage in the fight for spectrum. Trump has appointed Brendan Carr, a close ally of Elon’s who has criticized the commission in the past for not giving SpaceX the necessary permits. In addition, Globalstar relies on SpaceX to launch its satellites, giving the billionaire another trump card to play.
SpaceX engineers have replaced the fired FAA specialists — the agency that authorizes rocket launches for Musk’s space company