SpaceX partners with Qualcomm to install tens of thousands of 5G base stations across the US
Elon Musk's space company SpaceX is teaming up with mobile chipmaker Qualcomm to make a full-scale entry into the telecommunications business by installing tens of thousands of 5G base stations across the United States. Qualcomm said on November 4 local time that it has signed a multi-year contract with SpaceX and plans to sequentially install 5G ground-based base stations for Starlink Mobile across the country starting next year. Qualcomm will provide newly built base stations with its 'Dragonwing' chips for base stations (QRU100 and QDU100 platforms, featuring 64T64R massive MIMO technology that uses multiple antennas simultaneously) along with software.
SpaceX's move to build ground-based base stations beyond satellites is aimed at filling coverage gaps in satellite communications, such as dense urban areas and building interiors. Starlink's satellite signals are useful for connecting remote or mountainous areas beyond the reach of terrestrial networks, but they struggle to penetrate thick building walls or handle large volumes of data at once in densely populated areas.
"We can't live in an era where phone calls drop, whether we're at home or on the move," said Michael Nichols, senior vice president of Starlink at SpaceX. "We will build the first nationwide network with satellites and terrestrial networks fully integrated." Durga Malladi, a vice president at Qualcomm, also said, "We are building world-leading 5G wireless infrastructure together with SpaceX," adding that it will "lay the groundwork for advancing to AI-powered 6G communications within the next several years."
Starlink is a core revenue source for SpaceX, accounting for more than a third of its revenue and 85 percent of its operating profit. SpaceX previously proposed network sharing to major mobile carriers in a bid to enter the telecom market but was turned down. The company agreed to acquire low-band frequencies, which penetrate building interiors well, for around 800 billion won, and has been in talks to acquire or use the network of Boost Mobile, the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) subsidiary of EchoStar.
The specific value of the contract and the scale of investment were not disclosed.
