T-Mobile CEO rules out letting SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile use its network
Key points
- T-Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan said the carrier will not give SpaceX's Starlink Mobile network access through an MVNO deal.
- An MVNO is a company that rents capacity on another carrier's network instead of building its own.
- Gopalan made the remarks on T-Mobile's third-quarter earnings call.
- Wccftech says Gopalan called satellite service an inferior medium and said a SpaceX deal would add no new market for T-Mobile.
- T-Mobile still sees big growth in US cities, where satellite coverage is limited, according to Wccftech.
- SpaceX bought more spectrum earlier this month to turn Starlink Mobile into a full carrier, and is reportedly in talks for access to at least 80,000 US cell sites.
T-Mobile has again said no to SpaceX. CEO Srini Gopalan said on the carrier’s third-quarter earnings call that T-Mobile will not let Starlink Mobile run on its network through a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) deal. An MVNO rents capacity from an existing carrier instead of owning its own network. Light Reading notes the company has now ruled out such a deal more than once. Android Central sums up T-Mobile’s reasoning as simple: there is no money in it.
Wccftech reports more detail on why. Gopalan said such a deal would not give T-Mobile any new customers or revenue to chase, a point the outlet quotes as “incremental TAM,” meaning no added market. He also said satellite connectivity is an inferior medium. The outlet quotes him comparing it to fixed wireless home internet, but with even more limits, such as the size of the signal beam. T-Mobile still sees what it calls huge growth opportunities in US urban areas, where satellite coverage is limited.
SpaceX has been open about wanting to enter the US phone market. GSMArena says it bought more spectrum earlier this month to turn Starlink Mobile into a full carrier. It is also reportedly in talks for access to at least 80,000 cell sites across the country. GSMArena points out that an MVNO deal with an established carrier would have been a quicker way to get started.
On the same call, Light Reading says, T-Mobile said it aims to be the first US carrier with 6G.
Sources
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