SpaceX has signed a multiyear deal with Qualcomm to supply the hardware and software behind a brand-new nationwide cellular network for its Starlink Mobile service, with construction on tens of thousands of cell sites expected to begin in 2027. The agreement marks one of the biggest bets yet in Elon Musk's push to turn his satellite internet business into a full-fledged wireless carrier capable of competing with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.
According to CNBC, SpaceX struck the multiyear deal with Qualcomm to build out base stations for its U.S. mobile carrier, though financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Qualcomm described the arrangement as its largest 5G initiative to date, a notable claim given the chipmaker's history of infrastructure partnerships with carriers including Verizon, Dish and Vodafone, per the same CNBC report. Bloomberg reported that Qualcomm and SpaceX have signed the pact and that Qualcomm will build tens of thousands of cell sites for the new 5G network.
What's Actually Being Built
Per a Qualcomm announcement carried by Yahoo Finance, SpaceX has selected Qualcomm's Dragonwing Cellular Infrastructure platforms for Starlink Mobile's U.S. nationwide terrestrial 5G network, specifically the Dragonwing QRU100 and QDU100 platforms. The network will rely on Massive MIMO radio units with 64 transmit and 64 receive paths, a configuration the announcement says is central to the buildout. Fierce Network reports that every planned site will be a macro cell rather than a small cell, a distinction that matters for coverage range and capacity in a nationwide network.
The division of labor is split cleanly between the two companies. Qualcomm will supply the Dragonwing platforms along with commercial-grade Layer 1 software, while, as Fierce Network's report notes, it will be up to SpaceX and its own team to handle Layer 2, Layer 3 and the higher-level network technologies that act as the system's brains. Light Reading adds that Qualcomm's contribution includes the chips that host critical software inside a radio access network's distributed units, the components that process signals close to the antenna.
How It Stacks Up Against Qualcomm's Past Deals
SpaceX's network is expected to include tens of thousands of sites. Deployment is slated to begin in 2027, with tens of thousands of sites built out over the course of the multiyear agreement, according to Qualcomm's announcement.
CNBC reported, citing The Washington Post, that SpaceX was also looking to buy Boost Mobile from EchoStar. TechCrunch has also noted SpaceX's Starlink partnership with T-Mobile, part of a broader strategy of pairing satellite coverage with ground-based infrastructure.
Why Starlink Needs a Phone Network
The push into terrestrial wireless comes as Starlink has become an outsized part of SpaceX's business. CNBC reports that Starlink accounted for 36% of SpaceX's revenue in the third quarter and 85% of its operating profit, underscoring how central the satellite unit has become to the company's finances even as it branches into traditional cell service. Light Reading has also reported that SpaceX was in talks with U.S. tower owners about gaining access to at least 80,000 sites.
Not everyone is convinced the economics will be easy. PCMag reports that analysts have questioned the cost of building out a competitive network, estimating it could run into the tens of billions of dollars, on top of the need for additional wireless spectrum and new retail and customer-support operations. For context on the scale SpaceX would need to match, PCMag cites a March report for the Wireless Infrastructure Association estimating that T-Mobile has access to roughly 82,000 cell towers, AT&T to about 75,000 and Verizon to around 65,000.
Regulatory filings suggest SpaceX has been laying groundwork for wireless expansion for years. An FCC document shows SpaceX filed an application in February 2023 seeking to modify its Gen2 Starlink license to deploy antennas capable of communicating with mobile devices in the 1429–2690 MHz range outside the United States and to operate in the 1910–1915 MHz range, though the filing excerpt does not indicate whether that request was approved.
