- Some of the most sensational headlines say SpaceX is going to demolish mobile carriers and steal their customers thanks to their global coverage from space
- Is this really what’s going to happen? Beyond the headlines, the story becomes a little clearer – and less sensational
- During a panel discussion at MFF this week, the conversation was very civil. Actually, downright polite, if we’re really being honest (and who isn’t?)
SEATTLE, MOBILE FUTURE FORWARD 2026 — It’s not every day you see T-Mobile on the same panel discussion as SpaceX. Judging by the way their leaders talk in public, you could get the idea there might be a little animosity between the two.
That was not the case at all during Thursday’s session here that delved into the Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) economy. Not by a long shot. Judging by the banter, they’ve been best buds since … oh, at least 2022, when T-Mobile’s then-CEO Mike Sievert and SpaceX founder and pre-trillionaire Elon Musk met on stage in Starbase, Texas, to announce their partnership.
Here, there was no mention of exactly when T-Mobile direct-to-device (D2D) exclusivity with SpaceX’s Starlink might end. Nor was there any talk about how T-Mobile’s D2D uptime amounts to about 0.0002% of its overall network usage, confined mostly to national parks. Or how Starlink will offer a better cell phone service.
On the contrary, T-Mobile VP of Strategic Partnerships Jeff Giard said he’s been working with the folks at SpaceX/Starlink for several years on the service that customers have come to rely on when they need a connection in the middle of nowhere and cellular doesn’t cut it.
One of the big perks of his job is getting emails from people thanking T-Mobile for saving their lives or those of their loved ones due to the D2D service. It’s actually having a huge impact on people’s lives – and saving them.
SpaceX: Let’s talk about NSN (not NTN)
SpaceX VP of Satellite Policy David Goldman outlined several products his company offers – Starlink broadband being one of them, delivering services in about 174 countries right now.
In the D2D space, Goldman said SpaceX has been working with T-Mobile for several years. But he doesn’t really like the term “non-terrestrial networks,” because “you don’t want to be defined as the thing that you’re not.” (Surely the wireless industry can relate to that, right?!)
He went on to say how SpaceX has been working with T-Mobile’s “non-space network,” which got a lot of chuckles from the audience.
On a more serious note, he said early on in SpaceX’s relationship with T-Mobile, they were able to come together and serve communities affected by a hurricane that hit the Southeast, and they immediately saw a huge amount of usage. The same thing has happened after other natural disasters.
Complementary is the word
At one point during the discussion, moderator Derek Long of Cambridge Consultants asked if SpaceX’s strategy involves both working with the “non-space network” partners like T-Mobile in some locations and competing with them in other geographies.
Suffice it to say, Goldman clearly knows how to read a (mobile industry conference) room.
“Everything that we're trying to do is make sure that we can connect people,” he said.
In general, that means working with partners in some places and in others, it will be going direct to consumers. (There was no mention of out-performing cellular providers at their own game.)
Asked about their relationship, Giard said T-Mobile and SpaceX/Starlink were competitors in broadband before they did D2D together and they remain competitors – but they’re also partners. T-Mobile’s SuperBroadband offer, for example, incorporates Starlink’s satellite service into its service aimed at the enterprise.
Space is all the rage these days
Both Goldman and Giard said there’s room for more than one connectivity strategy. That was fitting for the panel’s theme.
Another panelist, Robin Chan, CEO and co-founder of Halo, talked about how his company works in the stratosphere, which was something that Google and Facebook dabbled in about 10 years ago.
Chan said he studied these companies and tried to figure out why their earlier endeavors didn’t work. Basically, the technology was before its time and just recently, solar and battery technologies have improved enough to support their dream of keeping these “flying cell towers” up for six to 12 months to provide connectivity to devices on the ground.
Rounding out the panel was Kris Rydberg, chief business officer at Viridian Space Corporation.
Viridian plays in the Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) space, which is typically 150 to 350 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. The problem it’s trying to solve is keeping satellites in orbit longer – possibly up to 10 years.
SpaceX: Bring on rivals
Turning back to the orbital heavyweight in the room, the moderator asked about other satellite competitors that are gearing up to challenge SpaceX/Starlink: Rocket Lab/Iridium; AST SpaceMobile and Amazon LEO, to name a few.
Goldman said they welcome the competition. “We’re constantly trying to innovate” and make sure they offer the best possible service, he said. For example, the V3 satellites that they launch later this month for broadband are 10 times the capacity of the older version so they can serve a lot more people.
He acknowledged that SpaceX is eyeing use cases that go beyond humans – use cases that are likely to be far more significant than the subset of cell phone users in the not-to-distant future.
They’re thinking about the next generation of satellites and how they’ll need to support robotics generated by AI.
Goldman said a big part of their motivation is to update the technology so they aren’t using old stuff. “We’re constantly iterating” and improving on the technology, he said.
Read more Fierce Network stories about non-space network entities and SpaceX
SpaceX lays out plan to compete with Big 3 wireless carriers
T-Mobile CEO reaffirms hard no on SpaceX MVNO
T-Mobile CEO: Satellite traffic tiny compared to overall network usage