SpaceX is preparing to make a major entry into the US mobile phone market by launching a Starlink mobile service for consumers, reports the Financial Times. The move would take the Elon Musk-led company beyond satellite broadband and into direct competition with America’s three biggest wireless carriers — Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. So far, Starlink has mainly partnered with telecom companies to provide satellite connectivity, but the new plan would allow SpaceX to sell mobile services directly to customers under the Starlink brand.
The report also suggests that the strategy was shared with investors during the company’s recent IPO roadshow by SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell.
The proposed mobile service will rely on Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell technology, which allows ordinary LTE smartphones to connect directly to satellites without needing a special satellite phone and external antenna. The technology is designed to provide coverage in places where mobile towers do not exist, like mountains, deserts, forests, offshore locations and areas affected by natural disasters.
It is important to note that SpaceX already offers this capability through its partnership with T-Mobile in the United States, initially allowing satellite-based text messaging, with voice calls and mobile data expected to follow. But now, by launching its own retail mobile service SpaceX would move from being a technology partner to becoming a full-scale mobile network operator.
SpaceX is also reportedly considering building its own terrestrial mobile network to complement its satellite system. Such a hybrid network would use traditional cellular infrastructure in cities while switching to satellites in remote areas, giving users more seamless nationwide coverage. The company has already strengthened its position by acquiring wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar in deals worth about $17 billion and another $2.6 billion, providing valuable radio spectrum that could help support a direct-to-cell mobile service and reduce its dependence on existing telecom operators.
The expansion comes as Starlink has become the world’s largest low-Earth orbit satellite internet network. The service now has more than 10 million subscribers across over 160 countries and territories. And now, the latest planned mobile service is part of SpaceX’s broader effort to turn Starlink into a complete communications platform rather than just a satellite internet provider. However, SpaceX has not publicly confirmed any plans to launch a Starlink-branded consumer mobile service, nor has it announced a launch timeline, pricing or other commercial details.
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Ashutosh is a Senior Writer at The Tech Portal, largely reporting on new tech, and intersection of technology and business. Ashutosh’s career spans across nearly a decade of technology writing across multiple platforms and languages.
