SpaceX says Starlink Mobile will become a ‘major mobile carrier’

SpaceX has said it intends to turn Starlink Mobile into a “major mobile carrier” in the US, after agreeing to buy low-band cellular spectrum from the investment firm Grain Management. PCMag reports that Grain had bought the licences from T-Mobile, and the move puts SpaceX on a direct path against AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

What SpaceX is buying

The licences sit in the 800MHz range. SpaceX says it is acquiring up to 14MHz of paired spectrum, covering the 817–824MHz and 862–869MHz bands, after the FCC cleared Grain to take them over. The Wall Street Journal notes the licences are tailored for service from cellphone towers rather than satellites. Terms weren’t disclosed, and the FCC still has to approve the SpaceX–Grain transaction.

Low-band spectrum travels further and passes through walls better than the higher bands satellites normally use. SpaceX said the spectrum “addresses one of the key remaining technical gaps” and that most existing phones already support the band. The company plans to combine next-generation satellites with what it calls an “advanced terrestrial deployment”.

The timeline is long

This builds on SpaceX’s purchase of EchoStar spectrum last year, a roughly $20 billion deal. The FCC this week approved up to 15,000 “version 2” Starlink Mobile satellites and cleared a route for SpaceX to operate as a retail wireless provider. According to PCMag, though, SpaceX can only start using the EchoStar spectrum once that deal closes, which is slated for November 2027, and phones need chipsets that support it. A retail launch date remains unclear.

On the company’s first earnings call in August, President Gwynne Shotwell said service would start at the end of next year and that SpaceX expects to win “quite a few” customers from the big three, Ars Technica reports.

Analysts are cautious. Satellite analyst Tim Farrar told PCMag the amount of spectrum is limited, and that reliable indoor coverage in cities would need an expensive network of ground towers. Satellites designed for higher frequencies would also need modifying for these lower ones. The deal also closes off an option for AST SpaceMobile, which had been testing the same bands.

T-Mobile’s position

Starlink Mobile currently reaches US customers through T-Mobile as T-Satellite, using about 650 satellites at roughly 4Mbps and supporting texting and some apps. T-Mobile has been downplaying that service lately and has floated working with other providers, so the partnership’s future is an open question.

Relevance for the Gulf

Everything announced so far is US-only, and no GCC plans were mentioned. Regional operators are pushing terrestrial upgrades instead, such as e& UAE’s U6GHz network and du’s six-carrier aggregation. The model SpaceX is testing, a satellite operator becoming a carrier in its own right, is one to watch. SpaceX’s reach also keeps growing, as seen when OpenAI cut off Cursor after the SpaceX acquisition.