SpaceX Buys Its Own Spectrum for Starlink Direct-To-Cell Service
Sep 8, 2025, 12:15 PM by Rich Brome @rbrome.bsky.social
SpaceX has reached an agreement with EchoStar to buy 50 MHz of radio spectrum licenses for approximately $17 billion. These licenses will enable SpaceX to operate its Starlink Direct-To-Cell service using its own spectrum in the US. The deal also includes some global satellite spectrum licenses. Currently, SpaceX operates its Direct-to-Cell service in partnership with wireless carriers like T-Mobile, using radio licenses owned by those carrier partners. Starlink Direct-To-Cell provides basic cellular service to ordinary cell phones via satellite, in what would otherwise be cellular "dead zones". The current Starlink service with T-Mobile uses the "G block" of the PCS band (1910–1915 and 1990–1995 MHz, part of band 25). One of the bands SpaceX is buying is the "H block", which is just above T-Mobile's G block, at 1915–1920 and 1995–2000 MHz. SpaceX is also purchasing AWS-4 licenses, including the frequencies just above that at 2000–2020 MHz, and 2180–2200 MHz, which is part of band 66. EchoStar and SpaceX have also agreed to offer Starlink Direct-To-Cell service to Boost Mobile customers.
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