Elon Musk reposted an official Starlink post, adding just one sentence: "Finally, there’ll be a network with a strong signal everywhere!"
SpaceX is going to build tens of thousands of its own 5G base stations in the U.S. The chip supplier was announced today: Qualcomm.
$QCOM
Qualcomm announced this morning that Starlink Mobile will use its Dragonwing QRU100 and QDU100 for its nationwide ground base stations, with 64T64R Massive MIMO. The multi-year agreement calls for nationwide deployment starting in 2027, with tens of thousands of sites planned. The value wasn’t disclosed. Qualcomm said this is its largest 5G project to date. It reports earnings after the market closes today, and its shares rose 2.6% in the first half hour of trading.
Last month, Verizon’s CEO ran the numbers on a conference call: for Starlink to become a carrier, it would need to build 65,000 to 80,000 macro sites, take at least 4 to 6 years, and spend $300 billion to $500 billion. Elon Musk replied: "2 or 3 years".
After that, the three major carriers each weighed in. T-Mobile said it saw no room for SpaceX to become an MVNO. On Monday, The Washington Post reported that SpaceX was in talks with EchoStar to buy Boost Mobile.
Traditional carriers are scrambling to prepare underhanded tactics to fight back…
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