SpaceX is preparing to launch its mobile operator service Starlink Mobile, which is set to become a direct competitor to Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile in the US market. According to SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell, the company expects to take a substantial share of the “big three” operators’ revenues, which are currently estimated at around $600 billion.
Starlink already provides basic coverage of “dead zones” for messaging and data transmission through partnerships with terrestrial operators, including within the T-Mobile Satellite project. In parallel, SpaceX is conducting test flights of its next-generation Starship rocket, which is intended to place Starlink V3 satellites for internet services and V2 direct-to-cell (DTC) satellites for direct connectivity with smartphones into orbit. According to the company, the latter will have 20 times the capacity of the current V1 satellites.
The launch of V2 DTC satellites is expected to enable 5G/LTE speeds of up to 150 Mbps from space for ordinary, unmodified smartphones. In addition, SpaceX is developing its own satellite communication modem, which it plans to offer to mobile chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm, Samsung and MediaTek, with a view to further increasing the speed of direct satellite connectivity in future.
To compete with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile not only in “dead zones” but also in cities, SpaceX plans to use the existing Starlink ground infrastructure. Instead of building expensive large base stations, the company wants to install small cellular base stations on equipment that holds standard Starlink Standard V5 antennas. In this way, the same terminals installed on the roofs of homes and businesses will not only receive satellite internet, but also create coverage in mobile frequency bands.
Elon Musk explained that the plan is to deploy a large number of relatively small stations based on existing Starlink dishes, which will have a clear view of the sky and will be able to provide direct connectivity to smartphones on the ground. According to him, such a network could potentially deliver better quality and higher capacity than current mobile operators, although the company is being cautious with public details for now so as not to attract premature attention from regulators.
Despite the technical feasibility of this approach, SpaceX still has to resolve a number of regulatory and spectrum issues, since satellite terminals that simultaneously operate as elements of a terrestrial 5G network require separate approvals. At the same time, the company is optimistic about its spectrum prospects: Starlink currently uses a band of about 5 MHz, but thanks to the acquisition of EchoStar it could potentially expand this to 65 MHz.
The first Starlink V2 DTC satellites are expected to begin reaching orbit during the debut orbital launch of Starship, which is anticipated in the second quarter. The full-scale launch of the Starlink Mobile operator service as a competitor to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. According to Gwynne Shotwell, the company expects to attract a significant number of subscribers by eliminating “dead zones” thanks to satellites in orbit and by providing better network performance during natural disasters.