SpaceX plans to transform SpaceX's Starlink Mobile into a full-fledged mobile carrier, anticipating it will challenge the three dominant wireless providers in the United States. During the company's first earnings call since its June IPO, President Gwynne Shotwell outlined a strategy to launch the next-generation Starlink Mobile satellites in 2027, with upgraded services rolling out by the end of that year. The network will leverage 65 megahertz of additional wireless spectrum capacity acquired through the EchoStar agreement.
Shotwell described the forthcoming service as "100 times better" than the current Starlink Mobile offering. She specifically called out the three major US wireless operators—AT&T Inc, Verizon, and T-Mobile—asserting that Starlink will deliver superior performance. "I anticipate we will capture a significant portion of their customers because I believe our service will be better," she stated.
Currently, Starlink Mobile functions primarily as a satellite-based safety net for mobile carriers. The company's satellites act as cell towers in space, providing connectivity when terrestrial services are unavailable, such as in remote areas or during emergencies. In the US, T-Mobile partners with SpaceX through a service called T-Satellite to offer satellite-to-cell connectivity. This service is not a full replacement for standard 4G or 5G plans. A T-Mobile spokesperson referenced comments from CEO Srini Gopalan during the company's second-quarter earnings call in July. Gopalan emphasized that satellite-to-cell technology supplements traditional networks, noting it accounted for just 0.0003% of T-Mobile's network usage during the busiest summer months.
Beyond the satellite system, SpaceX also plans to build a ground-based network. Shotwell mentioned during the call that the company can deploy smaller, lower-cost cell towers equipped with Starlink antennas. Elon Musk indicated that the resulting network would offer "better connectivity and higher bandwidth than existing cellular operators." "We don't have to deploy those very expensive, difficult-to-site large cell towers," Musk said. "We have every reason to believe we can deploy a large number of small towers."
In May, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the transfer of EchoStar's spectrum to SpaceX, enabling the company to use the spectrum for satellite, terrestrial, or hybrid applications. Shotwell declined to disclose the project's capital expenditure.
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