SpaceX has released new details on plans to upgrade its Cellular Starlink service, which aims to bring 5G connectivity to mobile phones directly via satellite. At the ITU Space Connect conference, the company’s representative stated that the goal is to reach maximum speeds of up to 150 Mbps per user, which would bring this technology closer to the performance of classic terrestrial 5G networks.
The current version of the Cellular Starlink service is already available through partnerships with carriers like T-Mobile, but is limited to basic features: messages, calls and low-data applications. Speeds are now around 4 Mbps per user, which is enough for basic communication in case of emergency, but not for full-fledged mobile internet.
How SpaceX plans to increase the speed of the Cellular Starlink network
The key to improvement lies in two things: additional radio spectrum and a significantly larger number of satellites. SpaceX plans to use the frequencies it takes over from the company EchoStar, as well as to get permission to launch as many as 15,000 new satellites, while the current constellation consists of about 650 aircraft. A wider range of wavelengths and a greater number of satellites means a wider transmission for data, a more stable quality of service and support for video, voice and more demanding applications.
If the plan succeeds, Cellular Starlink would approach the average speeds of 5G networks, where, for example, the networks of operators such as AT&T are already in the range of over 150 Mbps. This would make satellite mobile internet a real alternative in areas without the coverage of classic base stations.
Competition in this segment is also getting stronger. AST SpaceMobile is developing its own satellite-phone system and announces maximum speeds of up to 120 Mbps per device, while Globalstar continues to expand the emergency satellite communications used by Apple on iPhone devices.
SpaceX is currently working with other operators around the world, including Rogers in Canada and KDDI in Japan. The plan is for the improved Cellular Starlink service to start at the end of 2027, when the agreement on the spectrum of allowed radio signals is formally completed.
It is also interesting that Elon Musk previously hinted at the possibility of Cellular Starlink being offered as an independent mobile service in the future, parallel to the existing operators. If this is achieved, the mobile communications market could gain a completely new dimension in terms of connection without classic infrastructure, but with speeds that were reserved for terrestrial networks until now, writes PCMAG.