The Federal Communications Commission has approved SpaceX’s application to deploy 15,000 high-capacity direct-to-device satellites across nine orbital shells at 326 to 335 kilometers, low enough to reduce latency versus existing constellations. The approval lands about a year after SpaceX filed its plans and follows its acquisition of AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses from EchoStar, which lets it stop relying on spectrum leased from mobile carriers. SpaceX says the constellation will enable 5G-like speeds of 150Mbps per user, up from 4Mbps today.
The FCC order requires SpaceX to have half of the authorized satellites launched and operating by October 7, 2032, with the full 15,000 by October 7, 2035. The approval comes days after AT&T, T-Mobile US and Verizon formed a spectrum-pooling joint venture focused on direct-to-device satellite services, setting up a head-to-head between the carrier alliance and Starlink Mobile.