SpaceX’s Starlink is best known for delivering high-speed broadband to home users. But now the company wants to expand Starlink to serve “mobile users” in remote locations, according to an FCC filing.
On Monday, SpaceX sent an application(Opens in a new window) to the FCC to operate a “mobile satellite service” via the company’s Starlink satellite constellation.
The service would involve the use of Starlink satellites to transmit communications data to users on the ground, instead of relying on traditional cellular base stations. SpaceX says it has the technology to do just that after acquiring Swarm, a California startup behind nano-satellites capable of delivering internet connectivity to IoT devices in rural areas.
The company’s plan is to add a “modular payload” on its Starlink satellites capable of using the 2 GHz radio band to power mobile satellite service. SpaceX is now applying to the FCC for permission to use the 2 GHz spectrum and begin operating the modular payload.
The app does not offer details on what exactly Starlink mobile satellite service would look like to consumers. But the company hints that it will be selling a portable device that can connect to the network.
“Americans are increasingly demanding connectivity wherever they are, whenever they want and whatever they do,” the filing notes. “In particular, they have become accustomed to being able to connect using small portable devices that they can carry with them or affix to mobile platforms.”
The filing also says the upcoming system will leverage “existing ground equipment and user terminals” for Starlink while adding “new earth station equipment to optimize performance for consumers.” It is therefore possible that the mobile satellite service is a complementary product for Starlink.
A second generation Starlink dish. (Nina Lyashonok/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Image)
SpaceX also notes that the mobile satellite service “will deliver service with latency of less than 50 milliseconds, which is almost imperceptible to consumers.”
“This system will ensure that all Americans — even those in the polar regions — enjoy the same low-latency mobile services,” SpaceX wrote.(Opens in a new window). “And consumers aren’t the only beneficiaries of this improved service. For many federal users, satellite service is the only communication option to support mission critical. Improving capacity and latency for these users could have significant national security benefits. All these services are of public interest.
The company’s app also takes some digging at Dish Network, which is locked in a regulatory battle with SpaceX over 12GHz spectrum. In the application, SpaceX notes that although Dish is currently licensed to use the 2 GHz band, “there is little evidence that Dish actually provides MSS (mobile satellite) service to anyone, anywhere. “.
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“Furthermore, its two aging satellites, launched more than a decade ago, will reach the end of their license terms within the next two years and there are no indications of replacement plans to continue, let alone improve, its MSS. skinny at best. services,” SpaceX added.
Dish did not comment on its own mobile satellite service. But in a statement, the company accused SpaceX of engaging in anti-competitive practices with its attempts to secure 12 GHz and now 2 GHz radio spectrum.
“Now SpaceX is trying to bully the FCC into getting even more free spectrum by going after Dish’s 2GHz frequencies in an anti-competitive attempt to harm Dish and deprive consumers of innovative new offerings on the first virtualized network O -Dish’s 5G RAN. . SpaceX seems to have a desire to use all the spectrum in the world, as long as it can handle it for free,” Dish said in an email to PCMag.
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