Startup Lynk expects to begin offering commercial services as early as next year, fully one year earlier than its rival SpaceMobile.
Of course, being the first to market is not necessarily the primary indicator of ultimate success. Further, one company s version of commercial-level services may not be the same as another.
Nonetheless, the fact that Lynk is promising availability in 2022 is noteworthy considering SpaceMobile has been dominating discussions about cellular service from space for the past year.
AST & Science s SpaceMobile burst onto the scene early last year with the announcement of a $110 million Series B round of funding from the likes of Rakuten, Vodafone and American Tower. SpaceMobile s profile rose several months later when AT&T said it was considering a deal with the company. And at the end of 2020, SpaceMobile confirmed it reached a binding memorandum of understanding with AT&T alongside plans to go public through a special purpose acquisition while ra
News Wire Feed Light Reading 2/17/2021
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel today announced the establishment of a Task Force dedicated to implementing long-overdue improvements to the agency s broadband data and mapping tools. The Acting Chairwoman also named Jean Kiddoo as Chair of the new Broadband Data Task Force and announced other senior staff. The announcement, made at today s Open Commission Meeting, was accompanied by a staff update on the agency s current broadband data collection efforts. The Broadband Data Task Force will lead a cross-agency effort to collect detailed data and develop more precise maps about broadband availability, said Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel. I thank Jean and her team for their willingness to take on this vitally important project.
News Wire Feed Light Reading 2/11/2021
NEW YORK LightShed Ventures ( LightShed ), a new technology, media and telecommunications ( TMT ) venture investment firm, today announced the launch and initial close of capital of LightShed Ventures Fund I.
LightShed Ventures Fund I will invest $75 million principally in the Seed and Series A rounds of category-defining private companies across the entire TMT ecosystem. LightShed will be opportunistic in evaluating later private company rounds that fit tightly within its investment theses.
LightShed Ventures was co-founded by General Partners Richard Greenfield, Walter Piecyk, Brandon Ross and Jamie Roberts Seltzer. Greenfield, Piecyk and Ross have worked together for 15+ years as research analysts and thought leaders. They launched LightShed Partners in 2019, which has quickly become the preeminent TMT research firm for institutional investors. Seltzer brings a decade of private inv
And what might Amazon s LEO satellites mean for 5G operators? I think there are partnerships to be had for Kuiper, said Darren Achord, head of public policy for Amazon s Project Kuiper. We look forward to partnering with a lot of the providers out there.
Achord s pitch for Project Kuiper (pronounced ky-per ) was mainly targeted at members of the incoming Biden administration. Achord spoke about the company s satellite broadband initiative at the Incompas Policy Summit this week, a trade association that represents communications and technology companies, including Amazon.
Achord explained that Amazon filed its LEO plans with the Trump administration in July 2019, and received approval for a 3,236 constellation of LEO satellites a year later. Now, the company will need to navigate the Biden administration including Biden s choice of Jessica Rosenworcel as acting head of the FCC to move forward with its plans.