Starlink had talks with Apple over satellite messaging feature – Musk
(Reuters) -Elon Musk stated on Thursday SpaceX had promising talks with Apple Inc about utilizing Starlink’s satellite tv for pc companies for the iPhone 14’s emergency messaging characteristic, a day after the tech big picked Globalstar for the duty.
Globalstar would construct the satellites wanted for the brand new characteristic that may enable iPhone 14 customers in the US and Canada to ship emergency messages from distant locations, the satellite tv for pc communications firm stated on Wednesday after Apple launched its newest line of telephones.
“We have had some promising conversations with Apple about Starlink connectivity,” Musk, who can be chief govt of Tesla Inc, stated in a tweet.
“For certain, closing hyperlink from area to telephone will work greatest if telephone software program and {hardware} adapt to space-based indicators vs Starlink purely emulating cell tower,” he added. (https://bit.ly/3eD2i8p)
Apple didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The satellite tv for pc message characteristic shall be out there by a software program improve on iPhone 14 fashions, which embody further {hardware} to ship the messages, beginning November.
Apple can pay for 95% of the authorised capital expenditure for the brand new Globalstar satellites. It additionally devoted $450 million from its superior manufacturing fund towards the satellite tv for pc infrastructure for the characteristic, with GlobalStar set to obtain the vast majority of the funding.
Starlink and Globalstar make low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which function 36 occasions nearer to the earth than conventional ones, serving to them transmit messages sooner even in distant areas.
Just lately, wi-fi service T-Cell US Inc stated it might use Starlink satellites to supply cell customers with community entry in components of the US, permitting them to attach cellphones on to satellites in orbit. The brand new service will begin with texting companies in a beta part starting by 2023-end.
Starlink’s broadband service has been used throughout misery, together with in Ukraine when the Russian invasion disrupted web companies, and in Tonga throughout a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami.
(Reporting by Eva Mathews and Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Enhancing by Anil D’Silva and Devika Syamnath)
