AT&T and Verizon have questioned the upcoming SpaceX and T-Mobile project straight to the cell satellite offering, arguing that SpaceX's deployment will harm their respective mobile broadband networks. Filings urging the Federal Communications Commission to reject SpaceX's request to waive out-of-band emissions limits were sent by AT&T and Verizon this weekjoining similar opposition from satellite companies Echo star and omnispace.
T-Mobile announced the partnership with SpaceX in 2022, pledging to eradicate dead zones by allowing mobile phones to connect to Starlink satellites. SpaceX is now seeking a “ninefold increase” from current power flux density limits for out-of-band emissions to implement the Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) offering, which AT&T says would “cause unacceptable harmful interference” to terrestrial mobile operations.
Specifically, AT&T’s technical analysis shows that SpaceX’s proposal would result in an average 18 percent reduction in network performance in a market-representative operational deployment of AT&T PCS Block C. Primary ground networks and licenses must be protected from SCS interference, and operations under SpaceX’s waiver request would not be.
