AT&T and Verizon have a dispute with T-Mobile’s satellite service Starlink

AT&T and Verizon have opposed SpaceX and T-Mobile’s upcoming direct-to-cell satellite offering, arguing that SpaceX’s implementation will harm their respective mobile broadband networks. AT&T and Verizon filed motions this week asking the Federal Communications Commission to deny SpaceX’s request to lift out-of-band emissions limits, joining similar objections from satellite companies EchoStar and Omnispace.

T-Mobile announced the partnership with SpaceX in 2022, promising to eliminate dead spots by allowing cell phones to connect to Starlink satellites. SpaceX is now seeking a “nine-fold increase” in current power flux density limits for out-of-band emissions to implement its “Supplemental Coverage from Space” (SCS) offering, which AT&T says would cause “unacceptable interference” to terrestrial cellular operations.

Specifically, AT&T’s technical analysis shows that SpaceX’s proposal would result in an average 18 percent reduction in network downlink throughput during an operational and representative launch of the AT&T PCS C-Block. Primary terrestrial licenses and networks must be protected from SCS interference, and operating under SpaceX’s exemption request would not do so.