T-Mobile rejects Starlink Mobile partnership offer
Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 31 Oct, 10:51 · Archive
T-Mobile has rejected SpaceX's Starlink Mobile as a potential MVNO partner, with the CEO calling satellite technology inferior to fixed wireless access.
SpaceX announced plans for Starlink Mobile, a satellite-based mobile network, but lacks the ground infrastructure and spectrum needed to operate independently. The company's initial strategy was to partner with one of the three major US carriers as a mobile virtual network operator, gaining access to their existing infrastructure. However, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T have all rejected the proposal.
T-Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan said during an earnings call that satellite is 'an inferior version of FWA with even more constraints'. Fixed wireless access combines a router with a 5G or 4G signal and is used to bring broadband to homes and locations in rural areas. Gopalan also noted that two-thirds of T-Mobile's FWA customers are in dense urban areas where the company sees continued growth potential, leaving no reason to partner with satellite providers.
With carrier partnerships off the table, SpaceX is taking a different approach. Fox News reports that the company is pursuing access to at least 80,000 cell sites across the United States, including negotiations with Crown Castle, which operates roughly 40,000 towers nationwide. This would allow SpaceX to build its own competing wireless carrier rather than operate as an MVNO.
How it is being reported
- Elon Musk's Starlink could be your next cellphone carrierSpaceX is reportedly pursuing access to 80,000 cell sites to turn Starlink into a major wireless carrier rivaling Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.Fox News · 31 Oct, 10:20
- T-Mobile CEO calls Starlink's satellite technology 'inferior'SpaceX will have to go it alone with Starlink Mobile, as the big three carriers have all turned down the idea of making it an MVNO.TechRadar · 30 Oct, 12:05
In this story: SpaceX · Starlink · T-Mobile · Verizon · AT&T · Elon Musk · Srini Gopalan · United States
This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log
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