Swarm Technologies, Inc. is a private company working to build an Internet of Things (IoT) constellation of very small satellites (CubeSats) in low Earth orbit to provide mobile broadband data anywhere globally. On July 16, SpaceX acquired Swarm Technologies, it is now a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of SpaceX, according to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing.
In the FCC filing, the company requests the Commission “consent to transfer to SpaceX control of the earth and space station licenses held by Swarm, a U.S.-licensed satellite operator in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service,” the company wrote; Stating that the merger “will serve the public interest by strengthening the combined companies’ ability to provide innovative satellite services that reach unserved and underserved parts of the world.”
"Swarm and SpaceX respectfully request that the Commission act expeditiously to approve the proposed transfer of control," they stated.
SpaceX is working to build a robust Starlink broadband constellation to beam internet to rural regions. The company launches two fleets of 60 satellites almost on a monthly basis, each satellite is around the size of an office desk. To date, it operates around 1,740 satellites out of over 4,400 it plans to initially deploy. To connect to the Starlink satellite network, customers use a pizza-sized dish antenna that SpaceX says features technology more advanced than what fighter jets use.
Swarm Technologies developed a portable antenna and IoT device that connects to their SpaceBees constellation of 150 small CubeSat satellites, around the size of a handheld box weighing under five pounds. Swarm’s website says the service is beneficial for farmers in rural regions where there is no cellular data services. “This out-of-the-box satellite communications kit allows even non-techy users to send GPS locations and messages through their phones, and more technical users to build IoT sensors that can relay data through the Swarm network from anywhere on the planet,” Swarm’s website says.
SpaceX mentions in the FCC filing that Swarm “is in the process of gaining market access for its U.S.-based constellation in other jurisdictions. It recently began
offering services to customers in the agriculture, maritime, energy, environmental, and transportation sectors, among others in need of global satellite connectivity for IoT devices.”
Farmers need to transmit all kinds of data from their fields, but rural connectivity can be a major challenge. Swarm CTO @longmier tells @farmpress how ultra low-cost satellite connectivity can be a game-changer. Now that's what we call farm 🌽 to space🚀https://t.co/s90jT1Edfj
— Swarm Technologies (@SwarmInternet) August 3, 2021
Featured Image Source: Swarm Technologies
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
