Amazon’s new satellite network for mobile phones could turn up the heat on SpaceX

亚马逊新的手机卫星网络或将加剧与 SpaceX 的竞争

Amazon filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for a license to operate a new network of 5,105 satellites that would provide service to mobile phones, with plans to start launching them in 2028. 亚马逊已向美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）提交申请，计划运营一个由 5,105 颗卫星组成的新网络，旨在为手机提供服务，并计划于 2028 年开始发射。

The move comes several months after Amazon acquired the satellite operations of Globalstar, which provides emergency connectivity to Apple iPhones and Internet-of-Things devices. The filing revealed the company’s plans to leverage Globalstar’s radio spectrum to expand these offerings and integrate them with Leo, Amazon’s broadband internet satellite network. 此举发生在该公司收购 Globalstar 卫星业务数月之后。Globalstar 此前为苹果 iPhone 和物联网设备提供紧急连接服务。此次提交的文件披露了亚马逊的计划，即利用 Globalstar 的无线电频谱来扩展这些服务，并将其与亚马逊的宽带互联网卫星网络“Leo”进行整合。

That sets up more competition with SpaceX, which has dominated both the satellite internet and satellite-to-mobile services market. SpaceX will spend $20 billion buying spectrum from EchoStar to build out its mobile constellation, one of the key growth strategies described in its IPO filings. 这加剧了与 SpaceX 的竞争，后者目前在卫星互联网和卫星直连手机服务市场占据主导地位。SpaceX 将斥资 200 亿美元从 EchoStar 购买频谱以构建其移动卫星星座，这也是其 IPO 文件中描述的关键增长战略之一。

Still, it’s not yet clear how valuable satellite-to-mobile connections will be. Most offer limited bandwidth, suitable only for text messages or emergency situations. The CEO of T-Mobile, which uses SpaceX satellites to offer customers satellite connectivity, said this spring that there wasn’t significant customer interest. 不过，目前尚不清楚卫星直连手机连接的价值究竟有多大。大多数此类服务提供的带宽有限，仅适用于发送短信或应对紧急情况。T-Mobile 使用 SpaceX 的卫星为客户提供连接服务，其首席执行官在今年春天表示，客户对此并没有表现出显著的兴趣。

“Just to give you an example, we look at our data in May, and satellite usage is 0.0002% of our total network usage. That’s three zeros,” Srini Gopalan said at a conference in May. “We’re seeing it largely focused on the national parks.” “举个例子，我们查看了 5 月份的数据，卫星使用量仅占我们总网络使用量的 0.0002%。小数点后有三个零，” Srini Gopalan 在 5 月份的一次会议上说道。“我们发现它主要集中在国家公园地区。”

Amazon has an additional challenge: It doesn’t have its own fleet of rockets. It had planned to depend on Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, to launch its satellites, but the company’s rocket, New Glenn, has been delayed and is now grounded following an anomaly that destroyed its launch pad in May. The company had to request an extension to the deadline imposed by its FCC license to build out its network. 亚马逊还面临另一个挑战：它没有自己的火箭队。该公司原计划依靠杰夫·贝索斯（Jeff Bezos）的太空公司蓝色起源（Blue Origin）来发射卫星，但该公司的“新格伦”（New Glenn）火箭项目进度滞后，且在 5 月份发生异常导致发射台损毁后，目前处于停飞状态。亚马逊不得不申请延长 FCC 许可中规定的网络建设期限。

While Amazon still lags behind SpaceX, its massive capital reserves — $255 billion in current assets on the books as of the end of April — mean that it can keep investing in its network, while SpaceX’s capital needs appear far more pressing. 尽管亚马逊目前仍落后于 SpaceX，但其庞大的资本储备（截至 4 月底账面流动资产为 2,550 亿美元）意味着它可以持续投资于其网络建设，而 SpaceX 的资本需求似乎要紧迫得多。