SpaceX plans to turn Starlink into a mobile operator in the US

SpaceX, the aerospace company owned by businessman Elon Musk, has shared its new plan to enter the mobile services industry in the United States by turning Starlink into a mobile network operator. If the plan is realised, SpaceX President Gwyne Shotwell said the company will use a ‘terrestrial network’ with frequency spectrum obtained from telecommunications company EchoStar, as reported by MacRumors on Wednesday local time. Reuters first reported the story, stating that SpaceX intends to make Starlink a mobile service provider that will win ‘a fair number’ of customers from other US providers such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Shotwell declined to discuss the costs involved in the effort and said SpaceX has ‘great new ideas’ on how to build a mobile service. SpaceX agreed to pay 19.6 billion US dollars (approximately Rp351.2 trillion) to acquire 65 MHz wireless spectrum licences from EchoStar in 2025. The spectrum will allow SpaceX to expand Starlink’s direct-to-cell satellite service to include ground-based infrastructure. Commenting on SpaceX’s plan, telecommunications analysts assessed that without a Mobile Virtual Network Operator agreement with a major carrier, it will be very difficult for Starlink to compete with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The 65 MHz of spectrum is very small compared to the holdings of the major US operators, and they are unlikely to lease capacity to a competitor. In relation to providing mobile services, SpaceX plans to launch next-generation Starlink Mobile satellites in 2027. The service is promised to have performance ‘100 times better’ than their current direct-to-cell offering. Discussing the state of the US mobile industry, shares in AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon fell 2 to 4 percent following SpaceX’s revenue announcement. SpaceX currently has a partnership with T-Mobile to support the carrier’s T-Satellite feature, which offers direct-to-cell satellite connectivity to customer handsets.