Elon Musk with SpaceX will create his mobile phone operator and T-Mobile warns about the million-dollar cost

Elon Musk's extraordinary plan to fully enter the U.S. mobile phone market has already generated fear in one of its future competitors. Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, the majority shareholder of T-Mobile US, estimated that SpaceX would need at least 200 billion euros to transform Starlink Mobile into a comparable alternative to the major traditional operators.

The executive made the calculation on Thursday, November 5, during a results presentation to analysts. While emphasizing the magnitude of the economic challenge, he assured that he takes the entrepreneur's ambition very seriously and welcomed his potential rival with a phrase: “Welcome to the party”.

The frequencies and antennas behind the million-dollar calculation

Höttges explained that SpaceX acquired rights to 76 megahertz of radio spectrum, while T-Mobile has around 400 megahertz, according to the comparison he made during the call.

Matching such a quantity of frequencies would require, in his opinion, investments of hundreds of billions. Additionally, the company would need to build a physical network capable of supporting calls and data traffic.

“We have 85,000 towers”, he noted in reference to his U.S. operator's infrastructure. Even if SpaceX were to lease sites instead of building them, he estimated that this component would demand between 20 billion and 30 billion euros, not counting all the additional equipment.

The total figure is an estimate from the executive, not an official budget from SpaceX.

Why satellites would not replace traditional telephony

The head of Deutsche Telekom stated that satellite networks can complement cellular connections but cannot completely replace them.

“Satellite services will not replace terrestrial service. It’s impossible”, he asserted. He argued that capacity limitations and the difficulty of achieving signal inside buildings favor antennas close to users.

However, he warned that it would be a mistake to underestimate Musk. He recalled that the automotive industry ignored Tesla's progress for too long and pointed out that SpaceX could combine satellites, chips, data centers, artificial intelligence, and digital services to create a different proposal.

SpaceX has already agreed with Qualcomm to build a 5G network

The warning came a day after Qualcomm announced a multi-year agreement with SpaceX to supply technology for Starlink Mobile ground stations.

The company will provide Dragonwing platforms for radio and signal processing equipment. Deployment is expected to begin in 2027, with tens of thousands of sites in the following years. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

SpaceX also announced in October an agreement to acquire up to 14 megahertz of spectrum in the 800 MHz band, subject to regulatory approval. These low-band frequencies allow the signal to better penetrate obstacles, including walls.

The potential purchase of Boost Mobile remains unconfirmed

Meanwhile, U.S. media reported that SpaceX held talks with EchoStar about a possible purchase of Boost Mobile, which serves millions of customers using AT&T and T-Mobile networks.

No acquisition has been announced. Additionally, buying Boost would not automatically ensure access to all its network contracts, as some conditions might require the approval of the involved operators.

Höttges considered that buying an existing company could provide immediate revenue and avoid building duplicate infrastructure, although SpaceX could also choose to deploy its own network.

For now, the most concrete timeline is the start of terrestrial deployment in 2027. The possibility of Starlink Mobile competing on a national scale will depend on both financing and access to frequencies, antennas, and commercial agreements.