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Satellite Internet

AT&T boss John Stankey dismisses Starlink's mobile phone plan as 'not a viable strategy'

AT&T chief executive John Stankey told Axios that SpaceX's plan to turn Starlink into a mobile-network rival is 'not a viable strategy', citing cost and consent hurdles — the second US carrier boss to reject the idea this month.

By James Calloway · · 1 min read

A Starlink satellite dish mounted on a pole in a grassy field.
Photo: Wikideas1, via Wikimedia Commons

AT&T chief executive John Stankey has dismissed SpaceX’s plan to turn Starlink into a competitor to traditional mobile networks as “not a viable strategy”, in an Axios interview on Tuesday (29 September), the Times of India reported (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/att-ceo-john-stankey-agrees-with-t-mobile-ceo-peter-osvaldik-that-elon-musks-plans-to-shake-up-mobile-industry-with-starlink-should-be-laughed-out-of-the-room/articleshow/134583748.cms).

The proposal would add small cell base stations alongside Starlink dishes at homes and businesses, transmitting traditional cell signals to offer direct-to-phone links by combining satellite links with local cellular equipment, according to a write-up (https://www.tradingview.com/news/stocktwits:3fbbc0ac0094b:0-asts-stock-rises-overnight-partner-at-t-questions-spacex-s-plan-to-disrupt-wireless-carriers/).

Stankey challenged the economics: “It would cost as much to do that as it would to build a macro network to be able to handle those capabilities,” referring to a conventional cellular network. He also raised a legal hurdle: “You can’t radiate cellular signals from somebody’s house without their permission, unless somebody changes the law on that” (https://www.tradingview.com/news/stocktwits:3fbbc0ac0094b:0-asts-stock-rises-overnight-partner-at-t-questions-spacex-s-plan-to-disrupt-wireless-carriers/).

On home broadband, he backed fibre over satellite: “Satellite, at its best — if everything happens right over the next 10 years — is still not going to beat fiber.” The remarks came as AT&T announced a multiyear deal worth more than $3 billion to buy fibre and cable from Corning (https://www.tradingview.com/news/stocktwits:3fbbc0ac0094b:0-asts-stock-rises-overnight-partner-at-t-questions-spacex-s-plan-to-disrupt-wireless-carriers/). That home-broadband argument concerns a different service from AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-phone network, the same report noted (https://www.tradingview.com/news/stocktwits:3fbbc0ac0094b:0-asts-stock-rises-overnight-partner-at-t-questions-spacex-s-plan-to-disrupt-wireless-carriers/).

Stankey is the second US carrier boss to reject the plan this month. The Times of India reported that T-Mobile chief executive Peter Osvaldik said earlier in September the strategy should be “laughed out of the room”, arguing satellite signals cannot penetrate buildings, walls or car windscreens (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/att-ceo-john-stankey-agrees-with-t-mobile-ceo-peter-osvaldik-that-elon-musks-plans-to-shake-up-mobile-industry-with-starlink-should-be-laughed-out-of-the-room/articleshow/134583748.cms).

Sources

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