00:00Tell us about this build-out and capabilities, and who ultimately is signing up to use it?
00:06Well, thank you for having us.
00:08You know, our company is entirely focused on this opportunity of providing wireless access from space directly to the phone in your pocket.
00:16So to do this, we're vertically integrated.
00:18We build our own satellites, as you were just discussing.
00:21We're based in Texas, here in the United States, and we're partnered with over 50 mobile network operators globally.
00:27That's how we go to market, because those are the folks who have the customers today, nearly 3 billion of them with the partners that we have.
00:35So we're focused on building this network out.
00:37We have about an eight-year history as a company.
00:41We have over 3,700 patent and patent-pending claims on developing this new technology.
00:46It sounds far-fetched at first, talking to your regular small phone in your pocket from low-Earth orbit, but that's the capability that we have.
00:53And this is really important, I think, for everyone, because there's 6 billion phones out there in the world.
00:59And as we know, we depend on connectivity so much, and it's very important that that phone works, whether it's convenience, peace of mind, or emergencies.
01:08And that's what we're focused on.
01:09Starlink has partnered with T-Mobile.
01:11You have partnered with AT&T and Verizon.
01:14What can you tell customers about when they can actually expect continuous coverage nationally and perhaps even globally as a result of this partnership?
01:23Right.
01:24And so we actually have investment from about six different mobile network operators around the world, as well as American Tower, who's the largest tower company in the world, and Google.
01:33And so in the United States, yes, like you said, we're partnered with AT&T and Verizon, both investors.
01:39And it's very important for us to have that close relationship because the way we've built the company, our service is purpose-built for the mobile phone in your pocket so that it just works.
01:52And the key there is to be deeply integrated with the operator and solve the operator's problem so they can deliver value to their customers.
01:57So we're organized today around getting service out next year, and we currently have about five satellites in orbit.
02:06We just announced our plans to deliver number six and seven to the launch pad.
02:10And as you said earlier, we're looking to put up 45 to 60 by the end of next year.
02:15And so this capability is very important in the United States but also around the world.
02:19Well, tell us, like, who you anticipate or who are right now your biggest customers.
02:24I'm curious about commercial, residential, and I'm also curious about government.
02:31No, that's right.
02:32And the important thing about our company, too, is, you know, space has historically been a bit of a niche.
02:38You know, if you live in a rural area or if you're on a plane and you want connectivity, there are nice little markets there.
02:44But this is about going to the mass market, the six billion mobile phones in the world.
02:48And so that goes for people who live, work, and travel, go in and out of coverage, who have greater ability to pay and want that convenience, as well as people who live perhaps in rural areas who don't have good connectivity or are willing to pay a little bit more a month to have cellular broadband.
03:02Again, this is not a text service.
03:04This is a cellular broadband service that we'll be selling.
03:06So that's our U.S. and really developed economy story.
03:11When you go around the world, there's many countries, though, where there's over two billion people today who don't have good 3G or better service on their phones.
03:20That means 2G or nothing.
03:22And so market by market, our service is valuable to the users and to the operators who support those end users.
03:30And then you mentioned U.S. government.
03:31That's been a relatively new add to our story in the last two years.
03:35But given the defense and space backdrop in the United States, this is something that's been front and center for us for the last two years.
03:42And we're already providing services to the U.S. government from orbit.
03:46So, Scott, you probably know this little company called SpaceX that is out there.
03:51And I'm just curious.
03:51They did a deal with Echo Star.
03:53They became the first company to amass control of the satellite constellations in outer space, the launch infrastructures to deliver them there,
04:00and the potential for direct connections with mobile devices on the ground.
04:04So there's SpaceX.
04:06They're kind of the big behemoth there, the big player.
04:09There's you guys.
04:10There's Amazon.com.
04:11There's Global Star in the race for ubiquitous coverage.
04:14How do you plan to compete with Starlink, which already has thousands of satellites in orbit?
04:21Right.
04:21And I think for the layman, it's important to distinguish between service to a dish that you might put on your house or on a car or on a plane,
04:30and then the phone in your pocket, right?
04:31We all have Wi-Fi at home, and then we have a cell phone for when we're on the go.
04:35So this is a market, the cellular market from space, that's brand new.
04:39You've seen some players start to enter it, including Apple and Starlink.
04:43But we've been at this for about eight years.
04:46This solution is tailor-made, purpose-built for this solution.
04:49This is not an add-on new service for us.
04:51This is all we do.
04:52And that's why we've been able to garner such incredible support from network operators globally,
04:57like AT&T and Verizon in the U.S., Vodafone in Europe, Rakuten Mobile in Japan,
05:02Bell Canada, who we just announced cellular broadband testing in from Canada today with,
05:08who's also an investor in us.
05:09So these are capabilities that have been developed with the network operator in mind.
05:14We are focused on making their network better so that they can deliver the value to the customer.
05:19So are you not saying that you're competing with SpaceX and Starlink,
05:22that you're completely different businesses?
05:25Well, we plan to go after the cellular user through the mobile network operator.
05:31They also have a strategy, as you said, that they're pursuing.
05:35But this is a market that we think is big.
05:38It's going to be worth tens of billions of dollars.
05:40There's six billion phones out in the world that go in and out of coverage.
05:44And all of us know that feeling when we don't have a signal.
05:46You're helpless.
05:48And so we think that, and all of our over 50 network operator partners think,
05:52that this is something that really enhances the value of the cellular plan that almost all of us have,
05:58certainly in the United States.
05:59And so that is a strategy that's good.
06:01That's going to be a nice, robust market.
06:02And we expect, with our technology, to be the leader in that because we're doing broadband from space.
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