SpaceX already has almost over a thousand LEO satellites orbiting around the world. Companies like Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and China's Geely are trying to play catch-up. What is so important about the LEO satellites that drove Jeff Bezos to quit his CEO job at Amazon to focus on his space business?
First, with the exception of China, 5G roll out has been slow. It takes time to build out the infrastructure. In less than a year, SpaceX already completed the deployment of one-third of their constellation of LEO satellites. It is much faster than building the 5G base stations on the ground. And they did not have to go through much of regulatory approval which can be time consuming.
Secondly, with the cost of satellites and the cost of launching the satellites continue to come down. It is going to be cheaper to operate the satellites that building out the infrastructure or leasing from the operators.
Thirdly, LEO satellites can cover a lot of places where there is not 5G or even 4G. It will improve the connectivity for the drivers and the can be assured that they won't get lost even they are in the rural areas.
In addition to the high speed connectivity capabilities for self driving and delivering faster software updates, auto manufacturers will have more functions to connect to the satellites. These functions could bring more new revenue streams for the auto manufacturers.
Since there are no rules, whoever get there first will get the best spot. No wonder that Mr. Bezos has to quit his day job to focus on the next big thing!
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