SpaceX is requesting that the FCC grant it even more radio spectrum for the company’s upcoming Starlink service for mobile users.
The company on Tuesday filed for access to the 1.6GHz and 2.4GHz bands to power Starlink's mobile-satellite service, which is being designed to deliver internet access in cellular dead zones. When it first tipped plans for a mobile Starlink service in July, SpaceX only asked for access to the 2GHz band.
“By granting SpaceX access to [the additional] spectrum, the Commission can provide Americans with more options for mobile satellite services in otherwise unserved areas of the country, as well as other parts of the world, and ensure that consumers everywhere are able to fully harness the growth and development of IoT applications and devices,” the company said.
SpaceX plans on using the 1.6GHz and 2GHz bands for uploading purposes while the 2.4GHz spectrum will be used for downlinking. This will allow Starlink to “support a range of mobile satellite services, enabling SpaceX to craft a compelling array of offerings to address the connectivity needs of Americans wherever they are and whatever they are doing,” the company said.
The added spectrum will also help the mobile Starlink service achieve latency rates under 50 milliseconds while increasing the system’s data capacity to deliver satellite internet.
The company added: “By ensuring every user has multiple satellites in view from any given point on the ground, SpaceX’s system will have flexibility to deliver robust service, even in a crowded spectrum environment.”
SpaceX also stresses it can operate in the radio bands without causing interference with other satellite operators. This includes satellite communication provider Globalstar, which SpaceX says “has enjoyed exclusive access to portions of the 1.6/2.4 GHz bands,” even though the FCC refrained from granting it “perpetual exclusive use of the bands.”
However, the filing contains no mention of T-Mobile. Last month, SpaceX announced it planned on using its existing Starlink satellites to provide messaging, and then voice and data, to T-Mobile phones when they enter cellular dead zones.
The first tests will begin by the end of next year. But the ensuing system will use different radio spectrum, specifically the 1.91 to 1.995GHz bands from T-Mobile, to power the service. This will allow Starlink to send data to many existing T-Mobile phones, meaning most subscribers won’t need to buy new devices.
But it remains unclear how the rest of the Starlink mobile service will look to consumers. The filing simply says SpaceX plans on applying for blanket authority to operate “user terminals” for the upcoming service. So it’s possible subscribers outside of the T-Mobile partnership will need to buy add-on equipment to access the mobile Starlink service.
The filing goes on to say SpaceX has designed a “modular payload” that can be added to its first-generation Starlink satellites to enable the 1.6GHz and 2.4GHz radio communication.