(Credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX this week offered more details on its plan to deliver 5G connectivity with its next-generation cellular Starlink service for mobile phones.
“We are aiming at peak speeds of 150Mbps per user,” SpaceX satellite policy lead Udrivolf Pica said at the International Telecommunication Union's Space Connect conference. “So something incredible if you think about the link budgets from space to the mobile phone.”
(Credit: ITU/SpaceX)If SpaceX can hit its speed goal, the upgraded cellular Starlink service promises to deliver speeds close to those of traditional cell carriers' 5G networks on Earth. The median download speeds for T-Mobile’s 5G network currently reach 309Mbps while AT&T’s 5G network comes in at 172Mbps, according to Ookla’s Speedtest.net data.
SpaceX has been offering the service through T-Mobile’s T-Satellite, allowing users in cellular dead zones to remain connected. However, the current iteration of the cellular Starlink service has bandwidth constraints. Although it can power low-resolution video calls, texts, and select mobile apps using orbiting SpaceX satellites, download speeds only reach an estimated 4Mbps per user.
(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)SpaceX is preparing to upgrade the technology by using newly acquired radio spectrum from Boost Mobile’s parent, EchoStar. In addition, the company has requested regulatory permission to launch another 15,000 satellites for the cellular Starlink service; the current system spans only about 650 satellites. The new system promises to unleash “video, voice, and data services, clearly,” Pica said during the panel.
On acquiring the EchoStar radio spectrum, Pica added, “More spectrum means a bigger pipeline, and this means that we can expand what we can do with partners. We can expand the quality of service. And again, we can do cellular broadband basically, cellular broadband use cases, like AI or daily connectivity needs.”
The 150 Mbps per-user goal also stands out, as AST SpaceMobile has been developing its own satellite-to-phone service. But the company is currently only touting “peak speeds of 120 Mbps per coverage cell” using AST’s larger BlueBird satellites.
AST's SVP for regulatory affairs, Jennifer Manner, also spoke on the panel, noting that her company is aiming to provide "broadband" from space, too. The company most recently deployed its first second-generation BlueBird satellite, which features a massive 2,400 square-foot array to beam cellular connectivity to phones on the ground.
(Credit: ITU/AST SpaceMobile)"We plan to have 45 to 60 up by the end of the year, and more shortly thereafter," she said. "We need 90 satellites for full global coverage, but the 45 to 60 will get us to our key markets." AST's partners include AT&T and Verizon, and it aims to launch commercial service later this year.
To offer AST's satellite service to consumers, Manner said, "There could be a subscription, there could be a day pass... it could be a short-term subscription," but it'll be up to the company's partners to decide.
Another rival is Globalstar, the emergency satellite communications provider for Apple's iPhones, which has remained a free feature, for now. The company is preparing to bolster the satellite capabilities with an upcoming constellation called C-3. During the panel, Globalstar's VP for Regulatory Affairs, Barbee Ponder, noted that his company's technology has already helped save lives by enabling users to reach emergency services, despite being a cellular dead zone.
(Credit: ITU/Globalstar)As for SpaceX, the company aims to launch the upgraded cellular Starlink service in late 2027, when its deal for the EchoStar spectrum officially closes. In addition to T-Mobile, SpaceX has been partnering with a growing number of carriers worldwide, including Rogers in Canada and KDDI in Japan, to offer cellular Starlink service.
Last year, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also seemed to entertain the idea of offering the cellular Starlink service as a standalone product to compete with traditional carriers. “To be clear, we’re not going to put the other carriers out of business. They’re still going to be around because they own a lot of spectrum,” he said in September. “But yes, you should be able to have Starlink like you have an AT&T, or T-Mobile, or Verizon, or whatever.”