Transpacific Broadband Group [TBGI 0.34 3.03%] is looking to launch its satellite broadband rollout to customers in February of next year, and this disclosure simply says that the board has authorized management to enter into a contract with a company called ABS Global to develop and maintain several “low earth orbit satellites” (LEOSATs), and also for management to “engage in discussions” with “major” LEOSAT operators.
The TBGI disclosure goes out of its way to mention one “major” LEOSAT operator by name: Elon Musk’s Starlink, a division of SpaceX. The disclosure even provided an “About Starlink” section, which it neglected to do for the other “major” LEOSAT operators in the space.
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The Starlink tease is very strong! Starlink itself has been signaling interest in the Philippines since at least January of this year (MB link), and was rumored to have been linked with Converge [CNVRG 32.95 3.13%] in mid-February for rollout of some LEOSAT connectivity product by Q3 of this year. Is Starlink a viable partner for TBGI, or is it simply using Starlink’s name and the brand-power of its founder, Elon Musk, to pump interest in TBGI’s LEOSAT initiative? All I know is that February 2022 is going to be upon us very quickly, so regardless of whether its Starlink or any of the other LEOSAT providers, I think TBGI’s management team needs to get busy!
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