Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile Push Back on Starlink Mobile

By John Maximus · Published 4 November 2026
Reported from named sources and checked against the publishers linked in this article. Corrections: editorial and corrections policy.

Deutsche Telekom, the German parent company of US carrier T-Mobile, has publicly cast doubt on SpaceX’s push to turn Starlink Mobile into a major American mobile operator, with chief executive Timotheus Höttges making the remarks in a webcast on Monday, Yahoo Finance reported on 13 October. Days earlier, T-Mobile chief technology officer John Saw used a LinkedIn post to argue that buying airwaves is not the same as running a national network, according to Rolling Out.

Key facts

• SpaceX announced on 8 October that it had agreed to acquire nationwide low-band spectrum licences in the 800 MHz band, covering up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum, Rolling Out reports. The deal still needs final approval from the Federal Communications Commission, the US telecoms regulator.
• SpaceX is paying Grain Management, an investment firm, $8 billion in cash for the licences, Rolling Out says, citing The Wall Street Journal. Elon Musk touted the purchase on X as a major milestone.
• SpaceX said the deal would position Starlink Mobile to become a major US carrier, in direct competition with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. Shares in all three carriers fell immediately on the news, according to Yahoo Finance.
• Saw said that even after the Grain Management purchase, Starlink Mobile would hold roughly 80 MHz of spectrum, part of it uplink-only, against T-Mobile’s nearly 400 MHz across mid-band and low-band, Rolling Out reports.

Why it matters

Starlink Mobile is SpaceX’s satellite-to-phone service, and the dispute is about whether it can graduate from filling coverage gaps to selling mainstream mobile plans. Yahoo Finance reports that the FCC also appears to hope Starlink will create more competition in the US market and possibly lower pricing. The row is unfolding between SpaceX and the one US carrier that has been its exclusive direct-to-cell partner.

What T-Mobile’s CTO argued

Saw’s case, as summarised by Rolling Out, was financial as much as technical. He said the US wireless industry has poured more than $250 billion into network infrastructure since 2018, on top of more than $200 billion spent at spectrum auctions over the past decade — figures that exclude retail stores, customer care and distribution channels.

Competing in wireless demands years of engineering, network tuning, site acquisition and disciplined execution, he wrote. Spectrum can be bought in a single transaction, but a high-performing national network cannot be assembled overnight. Yahoo Finance separately reported Saw’s view that SpaceX will need to spend tens of billions more on extra spectrum and on-the-ground infrastructure.

Rolling Out notes that Saw struck a gracious note, saying he deeply respects what SpaceX has achieved in orbit and that T-Mobile welcomes a new competitor, while stressing that owning spectrum is not the same as serving millions of customers well.

Deutsche Telekom’s MVNO warning

Höttges went further. Yahoo Finance reports he asked why he should have to make calls over a satellite network when good coverage already exists, and he urged carriers to avoid reselling arrangements with SpaceX. Moving into a mobile virtual network operator model carries significant risks, he said, because cheap wholesale access puts a carrier’s own retail prices under pressure. Such deals help infrastructure utilisation but hurt retail customers, he added, saying he does not think courting SpaceX through an MVNO now would be a good idea. Verizon’s chief executive has already ruled out an MVNO deal with SpaceX, while SpaceX has been linked to reported talks with Boost Mobile.

Höttges also called Musk probably the greatest entrepreneur of the millennium and said investors appear willing to give SpaceX all the money in the world, per Yahoo Finance. But he listed obstacles: “We have 85,000 mobile antennas in America,” he said, in remarks translated and reported by Yahoo Finance, adding that Musk has to build those first.

The coverage question

Yahoo Finance reports Höttges repeated a common criticism of Starlink Mobile: while satellites excel at eliminating dead zones in remote areas, far-off satellites might struggle to deliver robust indoor coverage in densely populated areas. He asked how satellite spectrum would handle traffic in cities where millions of people are constantly on their phones. SpaceX’s own filing to acquire the Grain Management spectrum indicated it plans to build cell towers for Starlink Mobile, the outlet says, part of SpaceX’s plans for tens of thousands of cell sites.

Investors and consumers

Rolling Out reports that in an 9 October note, Morningstar analyst Michael Hodel said the research firm had raised its uncertainty rating on T-Mobile stock after US carrier shares slid. Hodel expects T-Mobile’s brand, network and spectrum position to drive solid share gains over the next couple of years, with AT&T and Verizon eventually catching up. Morningstar does not expect Starlink to actually enter the US wireless market, but Hodel warned the possibility alone could create headaches. A TD Cowen survey reported by Fierce Network found 34% of US consumers would consider switching to Starlink Mobile, including 30% of current T-Mobile customers.

Background: an alliance under strain

SpaceX’s ambitions were set out earlier. On an August earnings call, Gwynne Shotwell — described as SpaceX president by Yahoo Finance and as chief operating officer by Rolling Out — said she anticipates the company acquiring quite a few rivals’ customers because its service will be better and will eliminate dead zones.

Meanwhile Yahoo Finance reports T-Mobile has spent recent months downplaying T-Satellite while floating partnerships with other satellite providers. On 1 October, Rolling Out says, T-Mobile launched a joint venture with Verizon and AT&T — first announced in May — aimed at nearly wiping out US dead zones through satellite connectivity, a goal that could put it in direct competition with Starlink. Höttges, for his part, said Deutsche Telekom appears insulated because SpaceX’s carrier goals are aimed at the US rather than Europe, according to Yahoo Finance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is T-Mobile still working with Starlink on T-Satellite?

Rolling Out reports T-Mobile teamed up with Starlink to launch T-Satellite, its direct-to-cell satellite messaging service, in July 2025, and that the partnership remains intact for now. However, it says T-Mobile quietly removed the Starlink name from the main T-Satellite webpage shortly after the new three-carrier satellite venture went live.

Is Starlink Mobile planned for Europe as well as the US?

Yahoo Finance reports that SpaceX has recruited a growing number of Starlink Mobile partners outside the US, including Deutsche Telekom. In March the two companies announced a goal of launching version two of Starlink Mobile in Europe in 2028, but only to address cellular dead zones rather than as a full carrier service.

When will Starlink Mobile launch as its own carrier?

Yahoo Finance says it is unclear when Starlink Mobile will actually launch as its own carrier. The outlet reports SpaceX is designing the second generation of the service for 5G speeds of 150Mbps per user, delivered by next-generation satellites that are slated to start launching next year.

What did T-Mobile previously use 800 MHz spectrum for?

According to Rolling Out, John Saw wrote that T-Mobile used 800 MHz spectrum years ago for a single LTE channel of 5 MHz in each direction. He said the carrier now runs a nationwide 5G Standalone network, has launched 5G-Advanced and is helping shape the road to 6G, all on far wider channels.