Musk's SpaceX targets US consumers with Starlink mobile service push, FT reports (updated)

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26/06/2026 06:12

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    June 26 (Reuters) - SpaceX SPCX.O has told investors it plans to launch a Starlink mobile service for U.S. consumers, the Financial Times reported on Friday, in a move that could allow the Elon Musk-led company to compete directly with Verizon VZ.N, AT&T T.N and T-Mobile TMUS.O. 
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SpaceX already offers direct-to-cell connectivity with T-Mobile in the U.S., providing supplemental coverage from space to extend internet access to remote areas.
SpaceX is now considering launching a Starlink retail product and could build its own terrestrial U.S. mobile network, President Gwynne Shotwell told investors during a recent IPO roadshow, the FT report said, citing sources.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.
In September last year, SpaceX bought wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar for its Starlink satellite network for about $17 billion and then again for $2.6 billion in November, giving it the ability to quickly create a strong and affordable direct-to-cell service by using EchoStar's wireless airwaves.
SpaceX will disrupt the $1.6 trillion U.S. communications industry as its satellite broadband unit Starlink expands, brokerage firm ​Oppenheimer said in a note earlier this month.
SpaceX's record valuation is grounded in Starlink, which has over 10 million subscribers, and a launch business that analysts and investors say has transformed access to orbit.

(Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Rashmi Aich)
((AnushaDevang.Shah@thomsonreuters.com;))