Your phone works fine until it doesn’t.
Once you get far enough past the last cell tower, the fence will disappear. For years, this was just the cost of living or traveling in rural America.
This isn’t just an annoyance. Outside, a flat tire or medical emergency can turn into a bigger problem.
Satellites should solve this problem. Your carrier will partner with an aerospace company, and when the towers are depleted, your phone will send a text message in the sky.
It basically works. Starlink now sends text messages to regular phones via more than 650 satellites, and T-Mobile has signed on as its U.S. launch partner.
The deal is premised on the operator and aerospace company remaining friends.
That friendship is now on public display in FCC filings.
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
SpaceX says rivals want to hurt rivals
SpaceX (SPCX) accused T-Mobile (TMUS) and other legacy carriers of trying to slow down its Starlink Mobile service in a new filing with the FCC.
“SpaceX works extensively with other carriers, including T-Mobile,” the company wrote. “Unfortunately, a misguided desire to hurt competitors has led many incumbents to oppose modernizing rules that would bring direct-to-phone service to underserved border communities.”
Direct to cell phone means the satellite talks directly to a regular phone, without the need for a special antenna or cell phone.
RELATED: SpaceX’s Starlink growth creates new problems for AT&T
SpaceX is also targeting an aerospace spectrum group, the Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Committee (AFTRCC).
“The committee should recognize that the AFTRCC is now purely a lobbying organization whose mission is to protect legacy companies and that their comments should not be considered independent or objective,” SpaceX wrote.
The AFTRCC has been coordinating the radio spectrum for flight testing since 1969, consultant Jeremy Bayer wrote in a recent RealClearDefense column defending the organization.
T-Mobile is a SpaceX partner and critic
That’s what makes this fight awkward.
T-Mobile launches T-Satellite with Starlink in July 2025. Its add-on service costs $10 per month and is included in T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond plan, according to SatelliteInternet.com.
The two companies have sounded like allies at the FCC in the past. According to Telecoms.com, T-Mobile approved SpaceX’s request to operate satellites at higher power in 2025.
More SpaceX:
- T-Mobile rejects SpaceX’s request to steal customers
- AT&T CEO takes firm stance on Elon Musk’s SpaceX phone strategy
- T-Mobile’s partnership with Starlink encounters unexpected turmoil
Now, relations look even cooler. According to TheStreet, T-Mobile removed the Starlink name from its main T-Satellite webpage in October.
A few days ago, T-Mobile, AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) formed a joint venture to close the coverage gap, including through satellite, according to Light Reading. Existing satellite deals remain unchanged, the operator said.
Why border towns are caught in the middle
Satellite signals don’t stop at the border.
Under SpaceX’s FCC license, it can only exceed certain signal strength limits near another country if that country’s regulator allows it, according to the FCC’s January order.
SpaceX’s document said the updated rules would serve “underserved border communities.” The quoted passage does not say what rules it means.
What I’m reading: Border towns face double disparity. Many are rural areas with few towers and limited satellite power near borders.
These are exactly what satellite messaging is for.
Operators say radio waves are full
The operators have their own case, and it’s about interference.
According to TeslaNorth, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile asked the FCC to remove two 5G frequency bands from their satellite plans, saying that more than 300 million users rely on these frequency bands.
According to Capacity, T-Mobile warned that satellite signals could eliminate up to 96% of a cell tower’s uplink coverage area and reduce uplink speeds by 88% to 99%.
According to the media report, T-Mobile CEO Srii Gopalan also met separately with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. Industry group CTIA warned that the FCC’s decision “has real consequences for consumers.”
FCC makes progress on satellite spectrum
On October 29, the FCC voted to approve a proposal to expand spectrum from satellites to telephones. “With today’s proposal, we have taken the most comprehensive steps yet to modernize the FCC’s direct equipment rules,” Carr said, according to TeslaNorth.
Here’s what’s on the desktop:
- New spectrum: 482 MHz for satellite-to-telephone services
- Eligible Bands: five to thirteen years old
- lease: Satellite companies could certify coexistence agreements instead of leasing airwaves from each operator
- Which businesses want to cut: 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz frequency bands, i.e. 290 MHz
By my calculations, operators want to remove about 60% of the new spectrum.
Voting results are not final. It opens a comment period, followed by a second vote on the final rule.
Wall Street is already nervous
Investors see Starlink Mobile as a real threat.
According to 24/7 Wall St., T-Mobile shares fell 5% in early trading on October 23 after Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was in talks to access approximately 80,000 cellular base stations. AT&T fell 4% and Verizon fell 3%.
Elon Musk said Starlink “could eventually become a business generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue annually,” according to Forbes.
The operators didn’t believe it. According to “24/7 Wall St.”, Gopalan called direct-to-cell “a complementary category.”
What this means for your phone
If you paid for a T-Satellite, nothing will change today. Your service operates under existing agreements, which the operator says will remain unchanged.
This is what I would look at:
- Comment period. Final rules will determine how much spectrum satellites can use
- Your plans come in fine print. Check if satellite text messaging or $10 add-on is included
- new entrants. A fourth player usually means greater price pressure
- Overlay map. Rural and border users benefit most from satellite services
Now, the company that helps deliver satellite text messages on cell phones is fighting its own partners in Washington. Whoever wins will determine who fills America’s dead zones and the price to pay to stay connected.
RELATED: SpaceX plans to kill your cell phone carrier