SpaceX recently entered into a deal to buy a low-band spectrum portfolio from Grain Management, this is part of the company’s increasing ambition to compete with U.S. carriers for mobile customers.
The transaction for all of Grain Management’s nationwide portfolio of up to 14MHz of paired spectrum in the 800MHz band is subject to regulatory approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Financial terms are not available.
“This is the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America”, said SpaceX owner Elon Musk on X above a post which questioned the company’s direct-to-device (D2D) strategy.
SpaceX stated Starlink Mobile’s global 2GHz mid-band spectrum will deliver high-capacity coverage in the U.S., while the newly acquired low-band frequencies will improve signal reach through obstacles including walls and extend service to devices indoors. The company added most existing mobile devices already support the underused band.
SpaceX plans to pair its satellites with ground-based femtocells to provide 5G mobile coverage.
The company stated the low-band spectrum would address a key remaining technical gap and help pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major U.S. mobile carrier.
SpaceX stated once it garners approval it “will deploy a flexible architecture combining our satellite-to-mobile constellation in space with an advanced terrestrial deployment that can seamlessly connect devices everywhere”.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: SpaceX
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Source: Tahawul Tech