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October 11, 2021

Lynk’s Flagship Carrier Program

By Mahmoud Khafagy

Being connected everywhere is something that billions of mobile users around the globe not only want, but more importantly, that they need. Lynk’s mission is to fulfill this need by enabling standard mobile phones everywhere on Earth to connect to our satellites. We filed with the FCC earlier in 2021 for a commercial license. Lynk is now preparing to launch our commercial service by the middle of 2022 by accelerating the timeline of deploying our satellites to orbit. Lynk’s everyone everywhere service will be available to mobile subscribers around the world through their Mobile Network Operator (MNO) provider.

When we first started four years ago, we had tremendous success in gaining MNO interest in wanting to test the service.  In fact, dozens of MNOs signed testing agreements with us, and we acquired licenses to test in 13 countries. We have launched five satellites to test and demonstrate our technology. We had nearly 40 testing agreements with MNOs, but we are only one company, and in order to be successful we wanted to focus on a small number of partners.  We strongly believe that if we are going to be selective, we should do so in a planned and calculated manner.  We decided to limit the number of initial partners as well as the number of countries that we roll out the service to. We call this the “Flagship Carrier Program.”

Our Flagship Carrier Program is designed to provide certain advantages to the early partners. The program is limited to a dozen MNOs in a dozen countries with one MNO per country. Qualified MNOs are eligible to apply for the Flagship Carrier Program by signing a commercial agreement that will enable them to begin testing our service right away and then work closely to integrate the service within their own capabilities and to launch it commercially by the middle of 2022 to its subscribers. MNOs are already signing up. We have signed commercial agreements with three MNOs who have been accepted into the program.

MNOs that join our Flagship Carrier Program will acquire the following advantages in their home market: 

  • They will get to work closely with Lynk to conduct early comprehensive testing of the service.  They will get priority on testing to integrate with their networks.
  • They will be able to work closely with Lynk on market specific use cases and gain access to specific market research that is optimized to their needs. Detailed go-to-market activities are a critical component of the integration program to complement the current offerings to the MNO’s subscribers.
  • Perhaps most importantly, MNOs joining the Flagship Carrier Program will acquire a head start over their in-country competition.  By offering the service to their subscribers before other MNOs in their market, they will be able to unequivocally provide better coverage.

So why should MNOs care?

  1. By offering Lynk service to mobile subscribers, MNOs will increase customer satisfaction. From my experience in the wireless industry for over 15 years, having satisfied customers results in increased revenues and reduced churn. 
  2. By providing connectivity to the “unconnected”, MNOs will access a new source of subscriber growth.
  3. MNOs might drive switching from their competitors.  Lynk has completed detailed market research in three countries in which 70-80% of existing subscribers consistently stated that “safety” was a reason to buy Lynk’s service, while 50% of subscribers consistently stated that they would have “peace of mind” if their loved ones had Lynk’s service.  As anybody who understands Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, feelings of safety and security are the most powerful of motivators, which could drive switching.

Our Flagship Carrier Program guarantees comprehensive testing and integration with a select number of MNOs and allows deep analysis of different market-specific use cases. As a result, our Flagship Carriers get in on the ground floor and create a community of users that will all benefit from understanding and building the use cases and go-to-market strategies that connect the unconnected and help grow the value and loyalty of each MNO to its subscribers.

If you are an MNO, we invite you to contact us about our Flagship Carrier Program, and become part of Lynk’s mission to connect everyone, everywhere … no matter what.