- SpaceX hasn't taken possession of EchoStar's spectrum yet, but it's seeking FCC authority to launch up to 15,000 next-gen satellites to provide direct-to-cell (D2C) services
- SpaceX told the FCC it will use learning from its existing D2C service to deploy an even more robust service with the spectrum it’s acquiring from EchoStar
- The spectrum will enable SpaceX to provide voice, text and high-speed broadband to mobile users in areas where terrestrial systems don't reach
SpaceX is asking the FCC for the authority to launch a new constellation of up to 15,000 satellites to provide direct-to-cell (D2C) services to consumers on the ground.
The company last week filed a request with the FCC for the additional satellites, which will use 2 GHz spectrum it’s acquiring from EchoStar. The FCC still must approve the $17 billion spectrum transfer from EchoStar to SpaceX, but given FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s statement calling it a “potential game changer” for American consumers, it’s a good bet it will get the green light sooner rather than later.
In a separate filing, SpaceX and EchoStar spelled out why the spectrum transfer is in the public interest. Specifically, SpaceX seeks to acquire all of EchoStar’s licenses for AWS-4 and AWS-H blocks, in addition to EchoStar’s international spectrum authorizations for mobile satellite service (MSS) at 2 GHz.
The spectrum will allow SpaceX “to provide phone, text and broadband services from space to mobile users throughout the United States and around the world, especially in areas where terrestrial systems do not reach and at times when terrestrial coverage may be unavailable,” the companies told the FCC.
Of course, SpaceX anticipates much higher throughput than its current generation satellites.
“The next generation of Starlink D2C satellites will be designed to fully utilize the spectrum acquired from EchoStar,” with the capability of enabling 20 times the throughput capability of its first-generation satellites, the company said. “In most environments, this will enable full 5G cellular connectivity with a comparable consumer experience to current terrestrial LTE service, which will be used in partnership with MNOs to augment high-capacity terrestrial 5G networks.”
SpaceX’s Starlink is already providing satellite coverage for T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service, which is due for upgrades on October 1, when it will launch a data service in addition to texting via satellite.
Ergen bullish on SpaceX’s prospects
The tone of the most recent filings from SpaceX and EchoStar certainly is a far cry from how the two companies had been going at each other over the past several years. That’s not surprising, though, considering that as of earlier this month, EchoStar is now a shareholder in SpaceX, a company that EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen greatly admires.
“They have been a vendor for us for a long time. They've been one of the best vendors I've experienced within 45 years,” Ergen said at a September 15 investor presentation during World Space Business Week in Paris.
He went on to say that if he could make one investment in a company other than his own, it would be SpaceX, “because they've got 90% of the launch capability in the world today … I think that lead will grow with Starship, and they have a manufacturing capability that's highly automated, built from the ground floor up.”
Even before the proposed spectrum transfer, EchoStar was going to “interface” with SpaceX anyway, and “that just became a natural, once they were willing to pay a market price for the spectrum,” he said.
At one point, Ergen noted that he himself is an investor in people. “You give me a good company or a good person, I'll take a good person every time,” he said. Later, he said one thing a lot of people don’t realize is the greatest skill set that Elon Musk has is the ability to build teams. “He just has extraordinary teams,” he commented.
The Apple iPhone angle
So far, the spectrum that SpaceX is purchasing is not supported in cell phones, leaving one big question: What does Apple do? Apple kicked off the direct-to-device (D2D) market in 2022 with satellite connectivity provided by Globalstar.
The Information published a report earlier this year chronicling Musk’s headbutting with Apple over Starlink support in iPhones.
In a report summarizing the Paris event, satellite industry analyst Tim Farrar said Ergen stayed for an hour after the Q&A concluded, giving significant insight into his views on SpaceX and the future evolution of the industry, particularly the D2D theme that dominated the entire summit.
Farrar said he asked Ergen whether handset-led efforts such as Apple’s partnership with Globalstar would play an important role in the future of the D2D market. “Ergen suggested that in his opinion, either Apple and Starlink would reach an ‘accommodation’ or SpaceX would launch a Starlink phone (he clearly believes that the former is more probable),” Farrar said.
“The consensus of other attendees at this discussion was also that Apple now seems poised to abandon Globalstar and sign an exclusive agreement with Starlink in the near future,” Farrar surmised. “Certainly this would align with Ergen’s strong belief that SpaceX’s valuation is poised to grow significantly to $1T and that it could potentially exceed $2T in the longer term.”