Source: brokerage China
Author: Wu Kai Mo
Recently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the satellite Internet project first proposed by aviation giant Boeing Co four years ago. The agency approved Boeing Co's license to "build, deploy and operate satellite constellations" that will provide broadband and communications services to users around the world, including the United States, the statement said.
With the satellite Internet license and the recent good news that Boeing Co reached a 1.52 billion yuan settlement agreement for the 737MAX aircraft accident, Boeing Co's share price rose sharply on Friday, with its market value soaring 42.57 billion yuan overnight.
In fact, following Musk SpaceX's "Star chain Plan", Bezos' Amazon.Com Inc is also stepping up the layout of satellite Internet projects. Recently, Amazon.Com Inc applied to FCC to launch another 4538 satellites to expand its Kuiper satellite network.
Boeing Co Satellite Internet was approved, and the market value soared by 42.6 billion overnight.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved Boeing Co's application to launch and operate 147satellites to provide high-speed broadband Internet access, Reuters reported. The project was first proposed by Boeing Co in 2017, and after approval, Boeing Co can start building its satellite infrastructure.
Data show that compared with traditional satellites, this kind of low-orbit Internet satellites have lower orbits, higher density, cheaper costs per satellite, and more satellites needed to build a network. Of the 147satellites that Boeing Co plans to launch, 132will be in low-Earth orbit, the remaining 15 will operate at higher altitudes, and these satellites will be launched within nine years.
Boeing Co said it hopes to use these satellites to provide broadband Internet and communications services to resident consumers, government and business users in the United States, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, and plans to expand its satellite Internet services worldwide. Boeing Co also said that the company is optimistic about the multi-orbit future of satellite technology.
In addition to getting a satellite Internet license, Boeing Co also has another piece of good news that has been closely watched by the market.
Boeing Co reached a settlement for $237.5 million (1.52 billion yuan) to resolve charges that Boeing Co turned a blind eye to safety problems with his 737 Max airliner, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 6. Earlier, the crash of this type of plane cost Boeing Co more than 128 billion yuan. The settlement was paid by the insurance company that underwrote the directors and executives of Boeing Co, the report said.
In October 2018 and March 2019, two Indonesian Lion Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines Boeing Co 737MAX crashed, killing 346 people. Subsequently, countries around the world, including the United States, grounded the aircraft, stopped local airlines from receiving the aircraft, and banned the aircraft from overflying its airspace.
Spurred by multiple good news, Boeing Co's share price rose 5.37% on Friday, with a market capitalization of about 42.57 billion yuan over the previous day, with its latest market capitalization reaching 844.111 billion yuan.
However, due to the negative impact on the global aviation industry since the COVID-19 epidemic, compared with Boeing Co's all-time high of US $435.5 per share in 2019, Boeing Co's share price has nearly halved and its total market capitalization has shrunk by nearly 800 billion yuan from its all-time high.
Musk and Bezos competed to enter the "space battle".
In fact, the layout of international giants in the field of satellite Internet is nothing new. Musk, founder of Tesla, Inc., announced plans to launch 12000 communications satellites into orbit as early as 2015. The "star chain" of these satellites can provide Internet services.
So far, Musk's space company SpaceX has launched 1740 satellites and has more than 100000 users in 14 countries participating in public beta versions at a price of $99 a month.
SpaceX is closely followed by Britain's OneWeb, which has nearly half of the planned 648 satellites in low-Earth orbit. Other competitors include AST SpaceMobile of the United States and Telesat, a Canadian satellite operator.
As Musk's opponent temporarily lagged behind in the "battle for the world's richest man", Amazon.Com Inc Group CEO Bezos also actively participated in the satellite Internet competition. Amazon.Com Inc said in an application document submitted to the Federal Communications Commission that he hopes FCC will approve the launch of another 4538 satellites to expand its Kuiper satellite network. Since then, Amazon.Com Inc's number of satellites to the Kuiper network has increased to 7774.
As early as April 2019, Amazon.Com Inc announced that he would set up a Kuiper satellite network. The network will be made up of 3236 satellites and aims to provide broadband Internet services to users around the world. Last year, FCC approved the plan. Amazon.Com Inc later said that he plans to invest more than US $10 billion in the Kuiper satellite network.
However, Amazon.Com Inc has not yet put any Kuiper satellites into orbit. According to US media CNBC, Amazon.Com Inc plans to launch the first Internet satellite at the end of 2022 and put the entire constellation into orbit before July 30, 2029.
It is worth mentioning that Chinese companies have participated in this competition of satellite Internet. In 2020, satellite Internet was included in the scope of "new infrastructure" for the first time and included in the government work report, which is even more important.
On April 28 this year, China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. officially unveiled in Xiongan New area, becoming the first central enterprise registered in Xiongan New area. The company is also another communications operator after Telecom, Unicom and China Mobile in the list of central enterprises announced by the State-owned assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
Satellite Internet industry ushered in opportunities for development
In recent years, the pace of satellite Internet construction has been accelerating. Because satellite Internet has the characteristics of wide coverage, low delay, broadband and low cost, it can solve the problem that more than 3 billion people in the world are unable to use the Internet and 70% of the geographical space does not have Internet coverage.
In March 2021, China's 14th five-year Plan and 2035 long-term goals once again clearly put forward the need to build a global coverage, efficient operation of communications, navigation, remote sensing space infrastructure system. With the formal establishment of China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd., it marks the gradual acceleration of China's space construction and a broad space for development in the future.
Tianfeng Securities Research report shows that the Earth's low-Earth orbit can hold about 60,000 satellites. By 2029, a total of about 57000 Leo satellites will be deployed in low-Earth orbit, and the non-renewable orbital resources make the strategic value of space orbit become the main contention point for satellite Internet companies.
According to the above-mentioned study, investment in the global aerospace sector has increased significantly in recent years and is expected to continue to grow in the short to medium term. In terms of types, investment in Leo satellites will dominate. Regionally, the United States is dominant, and China's capital ratio is less than 10%, which still has room to rise.
Tianfeng Securities said that bullish on low-orbit satellite Internet has become a key trend in the electronics industry in 2022. It is expected that under the promotion of leading enterprises such as Apple Inc, shipments of Leo satellite services and related parts will grow significantly in 2022.
According to the analysis of Dongxing Securities Research newspaper, China's satellite Internet construction has made initial achievements, and under the leadership of the state power, the relevant industrial chains are expected to rapidly cultivate and mature, and occupy high-quality orbit, frequency and other scarce resources through leading advantages, so as to provide a better development environment and industrial chain foundation for the majority of private commercial operation projects.
Edit / irisz