SpaceX's $17 billion deal to buy spectrum licenses from EchoStar should help Starlink satellites deliver better service to smartphones, and it might give a few large corporations second thoughts about their current partnerships with Starlink competitors.
The spectrum, combined with a SpaceX plan to launch up to 15,000 new and improved satellites for cellular service, could cause AT&T and Verizon to question their reliance on satellite company AST SpaceMobile. Apple, which was reportedly already facing internal dissent over its deal with Globalstar, now has another reason to wonder if it made the right choice in rejecting an offer from Elon Musk.
Pending regulatory approval, SpaceX will acquire EchoStar's AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses, giving Musk's space company the rights to 50 MHz of spectrum in the 1.9 and lower 2 GHz spectrum bands. SpaceX plans to acquire EchoStar's rights to the spectrum in the US and globally.
