Elon Musk Bets $17 Billion on Plan to Serve Mobile Phone Deserts
SpaceX now controls the signal chain from satellite to cell phone
SpaceX Starlink mission launch, September 2022.
Source: SpaceX
Anyone who’s driven into the mountains or gone camping knows what it’s like to be without mobile phone service. Elon Musk wants to solve that, and he just put $17 billion toward the problem.
The SpaceX chief executive officer recently agreed to buy a valuable cache of airwave licenses that will help him create a seamless mobile satellite communication network — no antenna or clunky hardware needed. With a new infusion of spectrum, his Starlink satellite network will eventually be able to provide all the features of cell phone service — from voice calling to high-quality video streams.