Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges recently questioned Starlink Mobile's competitive trajectory, warning traditional carriers against MVNO reselling partnerships with SpaceX.
The discussion highlights the massive infrastructure, spectrum acquisition, and ground antenna investments required for satellite-to-cellular networks to compete with terrestrial telecom.
In remarks on Monday, Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges questioned why users would need a satellite network when terrestrial networks already offer excellent coverage, and warned mobile carriers against reselling services with SpaceX.
SpaceX's announcement that it intends to compete with giants such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon initially caused shares of all three companies to fall. However, T-Mobile's chief technology officer, John Saw, noted that Elon Musk's company will need to spend tens of billions more on spectrum and ground infrastructure.
Höttges called Elon Musk an excellent businessman who can raise as much money as he wants from investors, but he stressed that he would need to build 85.000 mobile antennas in America. He also expressed doubts about how Starlink Mobile would handle traffic in densely populated cities using satellite frequencies compared to traditional providers.
SpaceX has already applied for spectrum and plans to build cell towers, and its president, Gwynne Shotwell, said in August that the goal is to eliminate dead zones and attract customers from competitors.
Despite disagreements in the American market, Deutsche Telekom and SpaceX maintain the plan to launch the second generation of Starlink Mobile in Europe by 2028, with the aim of covering areas without signal.
Top comments (0)