SpaceX moves to become a US carrier with new spectrum and 15,000 satellites
What's the deal? SpaceXDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → this week announced two moves that advance its goal of becoming a major US carrier to rival AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. It is buying a low-band spectrum license portfolio in the 800MHz band and won Federal Communications Commission approval to launch its Starlink Mobile Gen2 constellation.
Why now? SpaceX says the 800MHz purchase closes one of the "remaining technical gaps" blocking it from competing with established carriers. Most smartphones already support the band it is acquiring.
What's the endgame? The Federal Communications Commission cleared SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites optimised for 2GHz spectrum globally, which the company says will "deliver more than 100 times the bandwidth" of the current generation. The regulator also granted a waiver letting SpaceX offer wireless service via satellite without a spectrum leasing deal with a terrestrial carrier.
How it works: After final approval, SpaceX plans to pair its satellites with an "advanced terrestrial deployment." The 2GHz mid-band spectrum will supply high-bandwidth capacity, while the low-band 800MHz signal can penetrate obstacles like walls.
SpaceX says it would be the first operator to combine satellite and terrestrial spectrum into a single network offering service "indoors, outdoors, in cellular dead zones, and everywhere in between."
What could go wrong? The plan hinges on final Federal Communications Commission approval for the spectrum purchase. SpaceX also already powers T-Mobile's satellite feature, but T-Mobile recently stripped SpaceX branding from its website after finalising a joint satellite venture with AT&T and Verizon.
The signal: The announcement rattled incumbents, sending shares of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile down — Verizon posted its worst one-day fall since 2002. SpaceX is positioning Starlink Mobile to turn satellite coverage from a backup feature into a direct challenge to the traditional carrier model.
Read more: MacRumors
Image credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video
