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Starlink and Comcast: Game-changing alliance

SpaceX's satellite internet service, Starlink, reportedly signed a cooperation agreement with Comcast, a major media, entertainment, and network service provider. This partnership aims to provide satellite broadband connectivity to business customers in remote areas.

According to Reuters, this marks the first collaboration between a traditional internet service provider and a satellite internet service provider to offer satellite broadband services to business customers. This move further solidifies Starlink's leading position in the satellite communication network field, leaving potential competitors like OneWeb and Project Kuiper far behind.

A GSMA Intelligence report indicates that Starlink has signed 17 cooperation agreements with various telecom operators, integrating their strengths to provide customers with mobile satellite network services. Surprisingly, Starlink is not the satellite network service provider with the most signed contracts. AST SpaceMobile, which has only launched one test satellite, leads the pack with 22 contract agreements.

Starlink Mini: Revolutionizing portable satellite internet

To attract more customers, SpaceX has recently introduced a compact version of the Starlink receiving antenna as a mobile option for satellite internet customers. The Starlink Mini is about half the size of a standard home antenna and weighs about one-third as much. It also has a built-in Wi-Fi router and can be easily carried in a backpack.

As Starlink continues to develop the global consumer market, it is also making significant inroads into the enterprise customer domain, including maritime, aviation, and military markets, disrupting the existing satellite internet market.

Starlink has already deployed over 6,000 satellites, making it the largest single-entity satellite network. It primarily provides satellite broadband services to residential and business customers, especially in remote and polar regions where traditional mobile and fixed networks are unavailable, such as mountains, jungles, and even at sea.

As of the first quarter of 2024, Comcast had approximately 2.5 million broadband business customers in the United States, contributing US$2.41 billion in revenue. The partnership with Starlink is expected to further expand Comcast's potential business customer base in remote areas.

According to CNBC, the experience version of the Starlink Mini antenna is currently available on a limited basis for US$599, which is US$100 more expensive than the standard home terminal. However, the company emphasizes its commitment to reducing the cost of Starlink Mini antennas to accelerate market adoption.

The subscription fee for the "Mini Roam" service is US$150 per month, US$30 more than the standard home service. Currently, it's only available for use within the United States, with a monthly data cap of 50GB. Exceeding this limit incurs a charge of US$1 per GB.

Michael Nicolls, Starlink's Vice President of Engineering, stated that they are working on increasing Starlink Mini's production capacity and will soon expand the service to international markets.

SpaceX suppliers benefit from slipstream

NASA recently announced that SpaceX will be responsible for developing the "US Deorbit Vehicle" for the International Space Station (ISS) retirement mission planned for 2030, with a contract value of US$843 million. NASA emphasized that while SpaceX will develop the vehicle, ownership, and operation will be transferred to NASA.

This development has indirectly boosted the performance of SpaceX's suppliers. Bloomberg reports that Filtronic Plc, a manufacturer of aerospace, defense, and telecommunications products, forecasts that its operating profit will more than double in 2024, mainly benefiting from providing ground modules with RF signal amplifiers for SpaceX.

Filtronic expects its operating profit to reach at least 4.8 million (about $6.1 million) in 2024, compared to 1.3 million in 2023. Total revenue is also expected to grow from 16.3 million in 2023 to 25.4 million in 2024.

The company stated that the key factor driving this growth is the rapid expansion of the emerging Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network market, particularly sales from its major customer, SpaceX. As SpaceX launches more satellites to deploy its constellation, it requires more ground-receiving stations to ensure high-speed transmission and low latency of the satellite network.

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Starlink innovates and forges partnerships, aims to dominate satellite internet market - DIGITIMES