SpaceX selects Qualcomm technology for Starlink Mobile’s US 5G rollout
SpaceX plans tens of thousands of ground-based sites, with nationwide deployment expected to begin in 2027.
Qualcomm said it has reached a multi-year deal to equip the terrestrial 5G network planned for SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile service. Deployment is expected to start in 2027, with SpaceX planning tens of thousands of locations across the US.
SpaceX wants its satellite infrastructure and terrestrial towers to operate as a single network, according to Starlink senior vice president Michael Nicolls. He said working with Qualcomm would accelerate development of SpaceX’s internally designed base station.
The equipment will use Dragonwing platforms and software from Qualcomm. Radio units will contain the QRU100 chip, with signal processing assigned to the QDU100. Qualcomm says the two chips are designed to increase performance while consuming less power.
The radios will support Massive MIMO through 64 antenna paths for transmission and 64 for reception. By directing signals to several phones simultaneously, the technology improves capacity, coverage and spectrum efficiency.
Deployment is planned in phases across several frequency bands. SpaceX increased its spectrum holdings during 2025, partly through airwaves acquired from EchoStar. Its mobile work has chiefly involved satellite connections for ordinary smartphones, including text services offered through partners such as T-Mobile.
Both companies also see the technology as a basis for AI-native 6G networks. That remains a longer-term goal, outside the initial 5G deployment.
