SpaceX is coming for T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon
SpaceX is preparing to build a terrestrial mobile network to "acquire quite a few" of the customers now subscribed to T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. The message to compete head-to-head with the US carriers was delivered by SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell and CEO Elon Musk during the Q&A section of the company's first earnings call. "The […]
Yeah, that point is probably worth just a few more words, because this is quite an important point. Instead of having to deploy these very expensive and difficult to locate, large cellular base stations, we feel reasonably confident that we can deploy a large number of small stations. Essentially, they’re really just Starlink dishes that also provide connectivity in the mobile spectrum bands, and have them be all over the place.
The Starlink antennas are located on the roofs of houses and businesses, so they’ve got sort of a clear view for providing connectivity directly to cellphones on the ground. Providing connectivity, that is, we think, probably better and higher bandwidth than what is currently available from cellular providers. This is an important point.”
Originally published on The Verge