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SpaceX Signs Multi-Year Deal with Qualcomm; Starlink Mobile to Roll Out Terrestrial 5G Network Across the U.S. from 2027

SpaceNovember 5, 20261 min read

Qualcomm has signed a multi-year deal with SpaceX to supply chips for 5G cell towers. SpaceX plans to build land-based 5G networks across the United States starting in 2027, as part of its phone service called Starlink Mobile.

What happened

On November 4, 2026 (US time), Qualcomm announced a multi-year contract with SpaceX. Qualcomm will provide chip platforms for 5G base stations, the boxes that send and receive phone signals on towers. These will be used for SpaceX's mobile service, Starlink Mobile. The price of the deal was not made public.

Key numbers and facts

SpaceX plans to start building land-based 5G networks in the US in 2027.
SpaceX expects to install tens of thousands of base stations during the contract.
Qualcomm's chips use Massive MIMO, which uses 64 send antennas and 64 receive antennas.
Qualcomm calls this its biggest 5G deal ever, according to Reuters.
The contract amount has not been released.

What is Starlink Mobile?

Starlink Mobile is a phone service that SpaceX is building by joining satellite internet with regular cell phone networks. Satellites can reach places where cell towers cannot. The goal is for people to make calls with their smartphones almost anywhere.

Why it matters

SpaceX is moving from being only a satellite company to also running its own phone network on the ground. This puts it in direct competition with big US phone companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Qualcomm's chips also help cut power use, which can lower the cost of building many towers.

What to watch

Whether SpaceX starts building its ground 5G network in 2027 as planned.
How many base stations SpaceX actually installs.
How AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile respond to the new competitor.

Glossary

Qualcomm: A US company that makes computer chips for phones and network equipment.
Starlink Mobile: SpaceX's phone service that combines satellite links with ground cell networks.
Massive MIMO: A method that uses many antennas at once to send and receive more data over a wider area.
5G: The fifth generation of mobile networks, offering faster speeds and more capacity than older networks.

SpaceX is working with Qualcomm to build its Starlink Mobile 5G network

SpaceX is partnering with Qualcomm on a multi-year deal to build out its nationwide mobile network. SpaceX will bring Qualcomm's Dragonwing technology to "tens of thousands" of 5G cell sites across the US, with first deployments set for 2027. The move is part of SpaceX's push to make Starlink Mobile a major US carrier competing with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.

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