- It’s not a new question but one that deserves more than a passing thought
- Like, how are satellites going to provide the type of indoor coverage that the U.S. cellular industry has been perfecting for decades?
- DAS remains a tried-and-true way to get signals distributed inside large venues
Not surprisingly, long-time wireless industry professionals have plenty to say about SpaceX’s plan to shake up the terrestrial wireless industry with its own hybrid satellite/terrestrial network.
One of the biggest questions is how satellite signals are going to provide coverage indoors because satellites have a tough time penetrating walls and buildings. Even with traditional terrestrial networks, mobile network operators (MNOs) have spent a lot of time and money trying to improve their service inside buildings where Wi-Fi alone doesn’t cut it.
Fierce asked the leaders at some indoor specialty companies for their take on SpaceX’s intentions to compete with terrestrial wireless.
Airspan CEO on LEO’s limitations
Airspan CEO Glenn Laxdal, a former Ericsson exec, said he understands that SpaceX’s investment in wireless can go a number of different ways.
“In-building is not one of them,” he told Fierce, noting the crucial role of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites in rural areas but their limitations in getting inside buildings.
“The LEO satellite operators will definitely have a role to play, but there's a limitation of physics that comes into play if you're trying to provide coverage exclusively from a satellite,” he said.
DAS leads the pack
From a terrestrial network point of view, delivering signals with distributed antenna system (DAS) infrastructure remains the best way to provide coverage inside big spaces where people congregate in large numbers, like airports and stadiums, he said. That continues to be important for carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon and the venue owners.
A lot of today’s current cast of DAS suppliers are the result of years of consolidation, and Airspan is no exception.
Airspan bought the Corning wireless business in early 2025, providing it with key parts of the in-building wireless business, both in radio access and network components, including DAS. That acquisition is similar in size and scope to Airspan’s more recent $27.5 million purchase of Cambium’s fixed wireless access (FWA) business, according to Laxdal.
The Corning acquisition ended up being a very successful integration, and privately held Airspan’s in-building business is up significantly – 30% year-over-year in 2026 versus 2025, he said.
MatSing’s spherical strategy
Another approach comes from MatSing, which provides multi-beam cylindrical antennas that use patented metamaterial lens technology to provide cellular coverage in stadiums and other big venues. Like DAS, it’s been deployed at concert venues and during sports events like the Super Bowl.
SpaceX's approach – small cells on rooftop Starlink dishes – makes a lot of sense for spreading coverage across neighborhoods and in particular can provide a great solution for “coverage,” especially in rural areas – places with few users that are difficult to cover with traditional cell towers, said MatSing co-founder and EVP Leo Matytsine.
However, “we believe there is a big difference between ‘coverage’ and ‘capacity’ and a sold-out stadium is a good example of a ‘capacity’ problem: 70,000 people in a small area, all using their phones at once. Satellite beams or even standard rooftop-based cell towers cannot deliver the required capacity for that many users in a concentrated place,” he told Fierce.
“Whether an operator's network is on the ground, in orbit, or both, a sold-out stadium is a capacity problem, and capacity would still need to be solved on the ground with antennas that truly sectorize while minimizing infrastructure,” he said.
Boldyn goes underground
Boldyn Networks is another well-known DAS provider, having done many acquisitions over decades, including Mobilitie, which amassed a portfolio of DAS products to provide indoor coverage for major stadiums, arenas, casinos and high-rise commercial venues across the U.S.
Boldyn’s work stretches across some of the most challenging RF environments, including the New York subway, which is a good example of the way in which terrestrial infrastructure continues to bring mobile coverage into hundreds of underground stations and tunnels, according to Boldyn Chief Technology Officer Marc Rohleder.
“These are complex environments that remain difficult for both satellite and terrestrial networks to provide enough coverage and capacity,” he said.
DAS proves it has staying power
Why has DAS managed to enjoy such longevity? Part of it has to do with the fact DAS has gone through its own technical evolution, starting with analog and evolving to digital, Laxdal said.
“Eventually, we're going to see a migration of those digital systems to open RAN-based systems, and with each evolution, you're able to increase the efficiency of the DAS,” he said.
Over the years, DAS has seen its share of critics, especially around costs. Laxdal said those concerns are being addressed.
“We continue to improve the efficiency of DAS,” including reductions in size, weight, power and costs. “It is continuing to get significantly better over time,” he said, noting that new spectrum bands are being added on a consistent basis.
“The systems are getting more efficient and delivering a lot more bandwidth now than they did five years ago,” he added.
The name of the game is “complementary”
It’s important to note that none of these vendors are bad-mouthing Elon Musk and his plan to get further into the mobile ecosystem. Like any good business, they’re happy to meet new prospects.
Better yet, they’re casting this as a chance for satellite and terrestrial networks to cooperate.
“We believe the future is increasingly hybrid, with satellite and terrestrial networks working together to provide the best user experience, depending on the use case,” Rohleder said. “At the end of the day success will come from combining the strengths of multiple technologies to deliver the reliable connectivity that’s important to the end user.”
Not the usual route for SpaceX
It’s possible that SpaceX ends up buying 800 MHz spectrum licenses that could serve as a coverage layer and help reach indoor spaces.
But don’t expect SpaceX/Starlink Mobile to build out a terrestrial network in the traditional way, according to Roger Entner, founder of Recon Analytics.
“They’re going to build it from rural into urban. Not the traditional model from urban into rural,” he said.
He doesn’t expect DAS to go away, either. Rather, “now they will have an additional tenant. Nothing has changed … Same problem. Different network. One more tenant.”
Read more stories about SpaceX and Starlink Mobile on Fierce Network:
Elon Musk’s mobile moonshot still needs grounding
T-Mobile and SpaceX at odds? Not at this panel discussion
SpaceX lays out plan to compete with Big 3 wireless carriers
Will satellite D2D work indoors? Why in-building coverage is the real test