“One New Zealand has previously undertaken a text messaging test with Lynk but has instead decided on a collaboration with SpaceX,” the telco’s corporate affairs head Conor Roberts said.
“We are confident in SpaceX’s proven track record of delivery - both in terms of delivering the satellites into space and its understanding of the telecommunications requirements.”
2degrees CEO Mark Callandar this morning struck a balance between cooling customer expectations and giving Paris another slap.
“While this is an exciting technology you won’t hear us making claims for 18 months plus away – we’ll keep customers across actual progress, actual direct-to-cell satellites in operation and actual customer availability, which is likely to be later this year,” the 2degrees boss said.
Meanwhile, Apple yesterday launched a satellite-to-mobile text service - for emergency messages - for all iPhone 14 users in New Zealand (the service is now in multiple countries, including the US, Canada, the UK and Australia). In a Herald test, it proved practical and user-friendly.
Paris was quick to point out that while One’s satellite-to-text service with Starlink is still in the works, it will “ensure all smartphones can use this life-saving technology, plus also use it for day-to-day situations in 2024″.
Spark says it will have a proof-of-concept trial for a satellite product for business users “in the next few months”.
“This would ensure businesses can continue operating and providing services that New Zealanders rely on if their primary services were to go down. For example, ATM machines could remain running if operators had this solution in place as a backup,” a spokeswoman said.
She added, in the consumer market, “satellite to your mobile phone is in its very early stages with many technical details still to be worked through, and these services are not likely to be available for some time. Our intention is to offer a consumer mobile satellite service in the future, but we don’t have any details to share at this time.”
Meantime, beyond the world of satellite-to-mobile, 2degrees and One have signed on as local resellers for the business version of Starlink’s satellite dish-based service, which involves a larger, higher-gain dish priced at $4200. 2degrees announced its hook-up in February, while Paris revealed One’s deal on Friday.
Cool your jets
Spark already partners with established “multi-orbit” player Intelsat for international satellite connectivity for clients who want to reach customers in remote parts of NZ, Australia and various Pacific islands.
Intelsat senior strategy adviser Terry Bleakley sounded several notes of caution in an interview with the Herald - especially as the mobile-to-satellite moves beyond text into voice and data. These included the complex challenges of mobile network operators in different countries using different spectrums, a possible bandwidth squeeze if people used satellite voice and data to phones en masse and satellite comms’ potential to suck a smartphone battery dry.
He said another concern was the “Kessler Syndrome” - a scenario that recalls the Hollywood space-disaster flick Gravity. “At certain altitudes, you can only have so many satellites in orbit before you get collisions, which cause debris that can cause a domino effect of more collisions. I think the regulators are struggling to keep pace with what’s happening. It’s a little bit like the wild west out there. Are we going to make space unstainable by throwing up too much hardware without realising the implications?”
Bleakley noted that China - which has banned Starlink - plans its own “Guowang” constellation of 13,000 satellites, with the first due to launch by the end of this year.
Elon Musk’s Starlink has around 4000 satellites in orbit today, with approval for 12,000. Musk has said he ultimately wants 40,000.
E-Space - founded by Greg Wyler, the entrepreneur who founded Britain’s OneWeb, plans to put no less than 100,000 satellites into low Earth orbit by the end of this decade. That’s twice what some see as the Kessler limit - although it’s still early days; a Financial Times report said Wyler’s seed funding runs to US$50m ($80m), a modest tally, so far, by aerospace standards. Bleakely says more independent research is needed on the effectiveness of collision-avoidance technology and other factors.
