SpaceX launches Starlink Mobile 5G cell phone carrier service to rival T-Mobile directly

Just as rumored, SpaceX has launched Starlink Mobile, a carrier network service that will provide 5G download speeds directly to people's cell phones no matter where they are on the globe.

Expected Starlink Mobile 5G download speeds are up to 150 Mbps to each individual user once SpaceX starts launching its next-gen direct-to-cell (DTC) satellites to build a total Starlink Mobile constellation of up to 15,000 DTC units.

SpaceX only has 650 such satellites in low-earth orbit at the moment and still provides basic cell phone connectivity for millions of users in more than 32 countries, including T-Mobile subscribers in the US. The next-gen Starlink Mobile DTC satellites, which SpaceX now calls V2, have 20x the throughput capacity of the current crop

Currently, phones like the new Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is 25% off at Amazon, can get limited satellite services like T-Mobile's T-Satellite signal without modifications. SpaceX, however, worked with mobile processor makers to integrate 5G satellite connectivity in the modems of their future chipsets. Qualcomm delivered with the new X105, which is the first Release 19-capable modem that should support the Starlink Mobile 5G satellite connectivity directly. It will be paired with Qualcomm's first 2 nm chipset that will be announced later this year and be in iPhones and Android handsets en masse in 2027 when the SpaceX bandwidth deal with Dish's parent company EchoStar will close. 

The Starlink Mobile V2 satellites are the size of a Boeing 737, which explains why they are waiting on the Starship 3 rocket to be launched. They are built with homebrew chips and phased array antennas, and this custom design has allowed for 100x the data density of the current crop.

Not only will the next Starlink satellite generation enable 5G connectivity and 150 Mbps download speeds beamed directly to phones on the ground, faster than what a Mini dish can provide, but they will also enable the Starlink gigabit network that will bring speeds of more than 1 Gbps to businesses equipped with the new Performance kit.