SpaceX Wants To Give Every Smartphone 150 Mbps From Space
Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX continues to develop its satellite communications for smartphones. Recently, significant speed improvements were discussed. At the Space Connect conference, Udriwolf Pika, SpaceX’s head of satellite communications policy, stated that the company is aiming to achieve peak speeds per user. He described this as “impossible” given the limitations of the communication channel between space and a typical mobile phone.
SpaceX is preparing to upgrade its technology using recently acquired radio spectrum from EchoStar. Additionally, SpaceX has requested regulatory approval to launch an additional 15,000 Starlink satellites, while only about 650 spacecraft are currently used for cellular services.
SpaceX plans to launch the upgraded Starlink cellular network in late 2027, when the EchoStar spectrum acquisition officially closes. In addition to T-Mobile, SpaceX is partnering with a growing number of carriers worldwide, including Rogers in Canada and KDDI in Japan.
If SpaceX achieves its stated goal, Starlink will deliver speeds close to those of traditional 5G networks on Earth. According to Ookla’s Speedtest, the average download speed on T-Mobile’s 5G network currently reaches 309 Mbps, while on AT&T’s 5G network it’s 172 Mbps.
