“SpaceX has entered into a purchase agreement with EchoStar for 50 MHz of exclusive S-band spectrum in the US as well as global Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) spectrum licenses. This agreement will enable us to develop and deploy our next generation Starlink Direct to Cell constellation which will be capable of providing broadband service to cell phones globally.

In January 2024, SpaceX began deploying Starlink satellites with Direct to Cell capabilities to eliminate mobile dead zones. At the time, more than 20 percent of the land area across the United States and 90 percent of the Earth remained uncovered by terrestrial service.

Days after launching the first Direct to Cell satellites in 2024, the Starlink team was texting using unmodified cell phones on the ground. By spring, we were demonstrating video calling capabilities. A year and half later, and with more than 600 Starlink Direct to Cell satellites in orbit, the first-generation Direct to Cell constellation was successfully deployed and is operational across five continents. Today, Starlink Direct to Cell has become the largest 4G coverage provider on planet Earth, connecting over six million users and counting…

Through the agreement with EchoStar, SpaceX will purchase EchoStar’s 50 MHz S-band spectrum in the US (bands known as AWS-4 and PCS-H) as well as its global MSS spectrum licenses. Exclusive access to this spectrum, along with use of optimized 5G protocols designed for satellite connectivity, will enable a step change in performance for Starlink Direct to Cell.

The next generation of Starlink Direct to Cell satellites will be designed to fully utilize this spectrum. Driven by custom SpaceX-designed silicon and phased array antennas, the satellites will support thousands of spatial beams and higher bandwidth capability, enabling around 20x the throughput capability as compared to a first-generation satellite. With the world’s most advanced phased arrays, the wider bandwidth operations enabled by this spectrum purchase, and optimized 5G protocols, the system will support an overall capacity increase of more than 100x the first generation Starlink Direct to Cell system. In most environments, this will enable full 5G cellular connectivity with a comparable experience to current terrestrial LTE service, which will be used in partnership with Mobile Network Operators to augment high capacity terrestrial 5G networks.”

From SpaceX.