At a glance
- Deployment will start early next year; terms were not disclosed.
- SpaceX will take Qualcomm's Dragonwing cellular infrastructure platforms, built around Massive MIMO radio units with 64 transmit and 64 receive paths.
- For allocators, the agreement is an equipment order, not a contracted cash-flow asset.
Qualcomm agreed to supply SpaceX's Starlink Mobile with radio units, baseband equipment and software for a US terrestrial 5G network of tens of thousands of sites. Deployment will start early next year; terms were not disclosed. Data Center Dynamics reported the multi-year agreement on Nov. 4.
SpaceX will take Qualcomm's Dragonwing cellular infrastructure platforms, built around Massive MIMO radio units with 64 transmit and 64 receive paths. Qualcomm says the architecture improves coverage, capacity and spectral efficiency.
For allocators, the agreement is an equipment order, not a contracted cash-flow asset. SpaceX has held talks to gain access to 80,000 US cell sites, with Crown Castle identified by Data Center Dynamics as one of the infrastructure firms involved. The lease contracts and backhaul fiber behind those sites are where recurring revenue would land from a fourth national terrestrial network, competing with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk outlined plans to build a competitive carrier network on the company's earnings call last month, according to the report. The next milestone is whether SpaceX converts talks over 80,000 cell sites into signed leases, and on what terms.
Reported by the Data centers & fiber desk from Data Center Dynamics. Published . Corrections