SpaceX buys EchoStar spectrum for Starlink phones
SpaceX has agreed to buy EchoStar's 50 MHz of US S-band spectrum and its global satellite licenses, the basis for a next-generation Direct to Cell constellation it says will offer roughly LTE-like 5G service.
SpaceX announced a purchase agreement with EchoStar for 50 MHz of exclusive S-band spectrum in the US, in the bands known as AWS-4 and PCS-H, along with EchoStar's global Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) licenses. The company did not disclose the price or the expected closing timeline.
SpaceX says the spectrum will support a next generation of Starlink Direct to Cell satellites. These will use custom SpaceX-designed silicon and phased arrays that support thousands of spatial beams. The company claims each satellite will have about 20 times the throughput of a first-generation satellite. It also claims a capacity increase of more than 100 times across the whole system, helped by wider bandwidth and 5G protocols optimized for satellite links. In most environments, SpaceX says, this would bring full 5G connectivity "comparable" to current terrestrial LTE. Operators would use the service to supplement their own terrestrial 5G networks. SpaceX also cites Starship's payload capacity as part of its deployment plan.
The current system started launching in January 2024 and now has more than 600 satellites at 360 km, linked to the wider Starlink network of more than 8,000 satellites. SpaceX says it works with unmodified LTE phones and serves more than six million users. The company calls it the largest 4G coverage provider on Earth.
Launch partners include T-Mobile, Optus, Telstra, Rogers, One New Zealand, KDDI, Salt, Entel and Kyivstar. SpaceX says it will continue working with mobile network operators. It did not give a launch schedule for the new satellites.