SpaceX and Qualcomm Partner to Build Nationwide Starlink Mobile 5G Network

SpaceX is teaming with Qualcomm on a multi-year deal to build a nationwide mobile network, announced November 4. SpaceX will deploy Qualcomm's Dragonwing technology across tens of thousands of 5G cell sites across the United States, with the first deployments set for 2027.

The partnership is part of SpaceX's push to make Starlink Mobile a major carrier in the US, competing directly with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. The company has already acquired a swath of spectrum, and recent reports suggested SpaceX was exploring an acquisition of Boost Mobile.

SpaceX plans to use Qualcomm's Dragonwing Cellular Infrastructure, a platform of hardware and software designed to boost network coverage, capacity, and efficiency. The company intends to combine this terrestrial infrastructure with its constellation of direct-to-cell satellites. The agreement targets tens of thousands of 5G cell sites nationwide, with initial rollouts scheduled for 2027.

Durga Malladi, Qualcomm's executive vice president and general manager of technology planning, edge solutions, and data center, said the companies are building world-leading cellular infrastructure in the United States, advancing 5G today. He added that the two companies have the opportunity to lay the foundation for 6G in the coming years.

The deal signals SpaceX moving beyond satellite connectivity into terrestrial 5G infrastructure, pairing its space layer with ground-based cell sites. Malladi framed the collaboration as a joint effort to advance 5G in the present while preparing the groundwork for 6G.

Attention now turns to the first deployments scheduled for 2027 and how quickly SpaceX can bring Qualcomm's Dragonwing technology to the tens of thousands of cell sites targeted across the country.