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SpaceX is coming for T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon
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SpaceX announced during its first earnings call that it plans to build a terrestrial mobile network using EchoStar spectrum and Starlink dish-based femtocells, competing directly with major US wireless carriers.
This moves SpaceX from a satellite connectivity supplement into a direct competitor in the US mobile market, which Shotwell estimated at $600 billion annually. The femtocell approach, repurposing existing Starlink dish installations as cellular base stations, represents a different network architecture that could reduce infrastructure deployment costs but depends on Starlink subscriber density.
Written by elseif from the cluster below · every claim links back to a sourceThe three things worth knowing
SpaceX acquired 65 megahertz of spectrum from EchoStar that includes terrestrial components, enabling ground-based mobile service construction.
Rather than traditional cell towers, Musk described deploying small stations that are essentially Starlink dishes modified to also provide mobile spectrum connectivity from rooftops.
Shotwell claimed the service will be '100 times better' once next-generation V2 satellites launch and the terrestrial buildout leverages the EchoStar bandwidth.
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