T-Mobile uses Starlink in the US and the satellite operator has partnerships with foreign airlines. With current FCC authorization, Starlink will be able to provide both fixed and mobile services from all 15,000 second-generation satellites.
SpaceX wants to launch another 15,000 satellites
SpaceX also recently struck a $17 billion deal to buy spectrum licenses from EchoStar, which will give it 50 MHz of mobile spectrum and reduce its dependence on mobile carriers. SpaceX has leased 10 MHz of spectrum from T-Mobile to provide additional services in the US.
Starlink separately plans to launch another 15,000 satellites designed for mobile services. SpaceX asked the FCC to approve this plan in September 2025, saying the “new system will provide a new generation of MSS connectivity, supporting voice, text messaging and high-speed data.”
Starlink applications for FCC authorization are often met with opposition from other satellite companies, and the application for 15,000 additional satellites is no exception. Viasat filed a petition to deny the application on Monday this week.
“This proposed expansion of SpaceX's operating authority would give it an even greater ability and incentive to cut off other operators from access to and use of limited orbital and spectrum resources on a competitive basis,” Viasat told the FCC. “At the same time, the proposed operations would impose insurmountable interference risks to other spectrum users and the customers they serve, prevent other operators from accessing and using scarce spectral and orbital resources on an equitable basis, undermine and foreclose competition and innovation, and otherwise harm the public.”
Globalstar has also filed a petition to deny the denial, and several other satellite operators have objected. However, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has generally been supportive of SpaceX and Elon Musk. Carr alleged that the Biden administration targeted Musk's companies for “regulatory harassment,” and in his current role as chairman, Carr pressured EchoStar to sell the spectrum licenses that SpaceX is now buying.
In today's press release announcing the latest authorization, Carr said that “the FCC has given SpaceX the green light to deliver unprecedented satellite broadband capabilities, strengthen competition and ensure no community is left behind.”
