Elon Musk-run SpaceX’s ambitious Starlink constellation, which is aimed at making high quality broadband network services easily available everywhere, is in for a major boost. The company has just scored a valuable cloud partnership with none other than Google. Score!
The idea behind the deal is to allow the privately-owned space agency to gain access to network facilities on the ground. This will be carried out by having SpaceX set up the ground control stations for its Starlink satellites, directly within Google Cloud’s current ground facilities.
This partnership, in turn, will help Starlink make contact with customers who live on the outskirts of the ground-based network infrastructure which is commonly seen today. This move is the next step towards realizing SpaceX’s ambition of making quality network services available to all, especially those who live in hard-to-access areas.
At the heart of this deal lies the extensive network of fiber-optic connections that Google has used to connect its on-ground centers. SpaceX will apparently be relying heavily on this network for its ground operations.
This partnership is very much in favor of both the parties involved. While SpaceX will now be able to make use of Google Cloud’s extensive on-ground network systems, Google too, has something to gain from the deal. This deal is a stepping stone of sorts, as Google tries to match pace with, and gradually outmatch, the likes of Microsoft and Amazon (whose Amazon Web Services lead the market) in terms of cloud computing services. This can act as incentive enough to lure the tech giant to provide SpaceX with access to its internal networks, a first of sorts for the company.
In fact, Cloud services might hold the key to Google’s development in the coming months, showing a growth of 46% year over year in the first quarter (despite bringing in only 7% of Alphabet Inc.’s total revenue in the first quarter). Cloud might also carry the potential to show better growth as compared to Google’s advertising services, which grew by only 32% year on year.
Customers, both in businesses and among the general public, will now have easy access to good quality internet connections, as well as cloud computing solutions, from AI to analytics. This all will be made possible thanks to the existing Google Cloud network, which will only grow after teaming up with Starlink.
While Starlink has mainly been focused on creating networks for consumers, such as providing internet services and cloud platforms for light work, the new partnership has also opened the doors towards better corporate uptake of its features. What this means is that businesses too will have something to gain from the Starlink constellation, as they will be able to establish a trustworthy network between various locations. In fact, such an offering might be closer than you think, as the companies have revealed that enterprise customers will be able to benefit from the new cloud services from as early as the second half of this year.
Shedding light on the deal, Bikash Koley, Head of Global Networking at Google, said, “This is one of a kind. I don’t believe something like this has been done before,” said Bikash Koley, Google’s head of global networking. “The real potential of this technology became very obvious. The power of combining cloud with universal secure connectivity, it’s a very powerful combination.”
