Elon Musk’s SpaceX has told investors that it plans to launch a new Starlink mobile service for US consumers, in a move that would upend the country’s multibillion-dollar phone network market.
The company’s president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, told investors during a recent IPO roadshow that the group was considering launching a Starlink retail product and could build its own terrestrial US mobile network, according to four people familiar with the matter.
The move would require Starlink to build a new retail offering by selling mobile contracts to individual customers, competing directly with the three big US network operators Verizon Wireless, AT&T. and T-Mobile.
To date, SpaceX has offered more limited direct-to-consumer services in the US, preferring to give telecoms groups such as T-Mobile access to its satellites to supplement their existing network coverage in rural areas.
Although the terms of Starlink’s commercial deals are not disclosed, analysts believe it takes a cut from revenues generated by those customers whose mobile deals include access to its satellites.
SpaceX’s move into retail contracts would be one of the company’s most significant commercial expansions since launching Starlink, which already operates across more than 150 countries worldwide offering high-speed Internet connections through its constellation of satellites.
A direct-to-consumer mobile offering would give SpaceX access to a far larger market than satellite broadband alone, potentially reducing its reliance on telecoms partners that currently act as intermediaries between Starlink’s satellites and end users.
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
The plans come just days after its landmark initial public offering, which has heightened investor demands that the group continues delivering rapid growth and finds new revenue lines.
<small>Source: Ars Technica</small>
