Abstract:
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is accelerating its entry into the US mobile communications market. On November 4, Qualcomm officially announced a multi-year cooperation agreement with SpaceX to provide Starlink Mobile with 5G cellular network infrastructure technology and help it build a nationwide terrestrial mobile communication network in the United States. This means that SpaceX is no longer content to provide limited direct connection services to mobile phones through satellites, but is preparing to build a complete mobile network that can directly compete with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.
According to information announced by both parties, SpaceX will use Qualcomm’s Dragonwing Cellular Infrastructure platform to build ground 5G base stations for Starlink Mobile. The cooperation involves two core platforms, Dragonwing QRU100 and QDU100, as well as commercial-grade Layer 1 software, covering radio units, baseband processing and related signal processing technologies.
Among them, QRU100 is mainly responsible for the processing tasks of the massive multiple-input multiple-output (Massive MIMO) radio unit, while QDU100 is responsible for high-performance, low-latency Layer 1 baseband processing. The combination of the two can provide wireless signal processing and data transmission capabilities for large-scale 5G base stations.
An important technology used in this cooperation is 64T64R Massive MIMO, which is a large-scale antenna system with 64 transmit channels and 64 receive channels. By processing wireless signals with a large number of antenna units at the same time, base stations can use beamforming technology to transmit signals to specific users in a concentrated manner, improving spectrum utilization efficiency, network capacity and coverage performance.
For SpaceX, this is especially important. Mobile communication networks not only need to obtain spectrum resources, but also must maximize the amount of data that each unit of spectrum can carry. Massive MIMO can help Starlink Mobile provide higher network capacity under limited spectrum conditions while reducing the energy consumption required for unit data transmission.
According to Qualcomm’s introduction, Starlink Mobile will deploy these devices on tens of thousands of terrestrial communication sites in the United States. The entire project adopts a multi-year agreement and is expected to be deployed starting in 2027, followed by gradual expansion to eventually form a nationwide network. Qualcomm calls this cooperation one of the company's largest 5G infrastructure orders to date, but the two parties did not disclose the specific amount of the contract.
This cooperation is not a sudden change in SpaceX’s business direction, but the result of its gradual advancement of mobile communications strategy over the past year.
Previously, Starlink mainly provided Internet access services to homes, businesses and remote areas through satellite broadband. As satellite direct connection to mobile phone technology matures, SpaceX has begun to try to allow ordinary smartphones to directly connect to satellites to provide communication services in areas not covered by traditional mobile base stations.
However, there are obvious differences between satellite direct connection to mobile phones and traditional cellular networks. Satellites can cover a wide area, but the communication capacity that a single satellite can allocate to users is limited. Especially in densely populated urban areas, it is difficult to completely replace ground base stations. Traditional mobile networks can provide higher data transmission capabilities in smaller areas through dense deployment of base stations.
SpaceX now hopes to combine two technologies: using ground 5G base stations to bear most of the communication traffic in cities and densely populated areas, and then using Starlink satellites to cover remote areas, transportation trunk lines and areas that are difficult to reach with traditional networks.
In terms of spectrum resources, SpaceX has also made important progress. In October this year, the company announced plans to acquire a batch of 800MHz spectrum licenses covering the entire United States, involving up to 14MHz of spectrum resources. This part of the low-frequency spectrum has the characteristics of long propagation distance and strong ability to penetrate buildings, which can make up for the shortcomings of higher frequency bands in indoor coverage and long-distance propagation.
At the same time, SpaceX has also obtained relevant authorization from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for the next-generation Starlink Mobile satellite system, and plans to deploy a large-scale next-generation direct-connect equipment satellite network. These satellites will work with ground 5G facilities to form a new communications architecture.
It has also been previously reported that SpaceX has discussed with EchoStar the possibility of acquiring or operating its Boost Mobile wireless business. If the relevant transaction is finally reached, SpaceX will not only be able to obtain existing mobile communication business and user resources, but may also further accelerate its entry into the US retail mobile communication market. However, the relevant negotiations cannot be regarded as a completed acquisition at this time.
For Qualcomm, this cooperation is also of strategic significance. In the past, Qualcomm was best known for its smartphone processors and wireless communications chips, but as the smartphone market matures, the company is actively expanding into data centers, automobiles and communications infrastructure.
The large-scale 5G infrastructure order received from SpaceX means that Qualcomm’s Dragonwing platform has the opportunity to enter the national mobile communication network construction market. In the future, the company also hopes to use this architecture to lay the technical foundation for the next generation of artificial intelligence-native 6G networks.
Qualcomm is responsible for providing core radio and baseband platforms, while SpaceX will use its network design capabilities to develop a complete base station architecture. Both parties stated that this system will adopt a flexible and scalable design to support network deployment in multiple frequency bands and different stages in the future.
However, building a nationwide mobile communications network is much more difficult than deploying satellite Internet. SpaceX not only needs to install tens of thousands of base stations, but also must solve site selection, power supply, fiber backhaul, network core systems, spectrum coordination, and various regulatory approval issues. Even with satellite networks, these terrestrial communications infrastructure requirements cannot be directly bypassed.
In addition, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile already have decades of network construction experience, a huge user base and mature sales channels. If SpaceX wants to truly become the fourth national mobile communications operator in the United States, in addition to technology and coverage, it must also provide competitive rates, customer service and network reliability.
At present, the agreement announced by the two parties mainly involves the supply of network equipment and infrastructure construction. Starlink Mobile’s specific package price for consumers, official commercial date or first batch of covered cities have not been announced. Therefore, starting deployment in 2027 does not mean that consumers will be able to use the complete nationwide service immediately.
From the perspective of development direction, SpaceX is trying to establish a communication system that is different from traditional operators: the terrestrial 5G network is responsible for high-capacity connections, and the satellite network is responsible for wide-area coverage, both of which jointly provide continuous communication services. If this model succeeds, Starlink's future competitors will no longer be just other satellite Internet operators, but the entire traditional mobile communications industry in the United States.
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