---
title: "Apple Is Reportedly Working on Secret Satellite Tech"
description: "Tech giant Apple reportedly has a secret team working on satellite-based wireless data beaming technology, according to Bloomberg."
date: "2019-12-20"
modified: "2019-12-20"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/apple-secret-satellite-tech"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "Amazon"
  - "apple"
  - "satellites"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# Apple Is Reportedly Working on Secret Satellite Tech

![Tech giant Apple reportedly has a secret team working on satellite-based wireless data beaming technology, according to Bloomberg.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/apple-secret-satellite-tech.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: USAF/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## iSatellite

Tech giant Apple reportedly has a secret team working on satellite-based wireless data beaming technology, [according to ](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-20/apple-has-top-secret-team-working-on-internet-satellites>)*[Bloomberg](<https://futurism.com/apple-humans-review-siri-recordings>)**.*

Anonymous sources at the company told *Bloomberg* that about a dozen engineers are working on satellite and antenna designs to be first deployed in five years time — though, they emphasized, the project is still in early stages.

## Apple Constellation

There's still much we don't know about the project. It's unclear, for instance, whether Apple is aiming to circumvent the need for wireless carriers, or simply trying to improve location tracking for its many devices.

Another glaring unknown: whether Apple wants to send an entire constellation of satellites into orbit, SpaceX-style, or use existing satellites to beam data back and forth.

## Clash of the Titans

It's arguably not a great time to announce plans for broadband satellite constellations, if that's Apple's plan. The news comes after Amazon [announced](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-05/amazon-asks-to-join-broadband-space-race-with-elon-musk-s-spacex>) plans to send more than 3,000 satellites to form a internet-beaming constellation in July.

And according to a [Thursday report by *Vice*](<https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5dmzyx/spacex-is-lobbying-against-amazons-internet-beaming-satellites>), SpaceX is lobbying against Amazon's efforts, asking the Federal Communications Commission to deny Amazon's request to get a special waiver, which would grant it the necessary permissions to operate within a certain frequency.

**READ MORE:** [Apple Has Secret Team Working on Satellites to Beam Data to Devices](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-20/apple-has-top-secret-team-working-on-internet-satellites>) \[*Bloomberg*\]

**More on Apple:** *[Apple: Humans Will No Longer Review Siri Recordings](<https://futurism.com/apple-humans-review-siri-recordings>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)