Is SpaceX Building a Phone Carrier?

A trademark filing for “Starlink Mobile,” and I break down what that name implies, how a consumer phone service could work, and the practical signals to watch if SpaceX moves from brand to launch.

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Episode Transcript

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SpaceX filed A trademark for thename Starlink Mobile, and that
move points toward a serious push into phone service.
Is SpaceX preparing to run a mobile carrier that blends

(01:31):
satellite links with everyday cellular plans?
Now, after the break, I'll unpack what a trademark filing
actually signals about this, howa Starlink mobile brand could
work in practice, and what product clues usually follow if
a company plans to sell true phone service.
And I'll breakdown possible customer experiences, business

(01:52):
models, and the roadblocks that shape a launch timeline.
So this is what, you know what to look out for in the future
when it comes to Sterling Mobile.
I think this will be really coolif they actually pull this off,
if they try to compete with the big carriers, it's going to be
amazing. They have a partnership with
T-Mobile right now, but we're going to get into this right

(02:14):
after this short break. Now we have 1 concrete data
point right now, a trademark filing for the name Sterling
Mobile. Now a trademark reserves
branding for specific goods and services and companies file
before they announce their actual products.
Now this gives us a narrow fact plus a wide field of
implications to test out. Now let's start with what a

(02:37):
trademark is and what it is not.A filing protects a name or a
logo for certain uses, such as telecommunications services or
software. It does not confirm a product
launch date or a final feature list.
Companies often secure names early to prevent rivals from
squatting on a brand they plan to use in the future.

(02:57):
Now, the word in the name actually matters.
Starlink Mobile reads as a consumer facing label that you
would expect to see on a SIM or an esim, a rate plan or a phone
app that signals intent to servepeople who carry phones not only
homes, boats, trucks or airplanes.
Currently, it also pairs cleanlywith the existing Starlink brand

(03:19):
that people already connect with.
Connectivity now mark like this usually sits on top of a few
possible offerings. One possibility is a mobile
virtual network operator that sells phone plans under the name
brand while it rides on existingterrestrial towers in cities.
Another possibility is a hybrid plan that uses ground towers

(03:40):
first, then falls back to satellite links and dead zones.
And #3 is a stand alone satellite first plan for basic
messaging and safety coverage and eventually phone service
with a consumer friendly label people recognize.
Now think about the customer journey that a name like this

(04:01):
tries to simplify. You own an app, you scan AQR
code and your phone loads an E SIM labeled Starlink Mobile.
You pick a tier that covers yourhome region, a travel add on
maybe, and a satellite fall backoption for hiking, driving or
sailing. Now the brand promises simple
coverage in the plan. Names mirror that promise.

(04:22):
That means you could have Starlink Mobile within seconds,
no crazy sign up processes like the current carriers because
they want every single penny outof your pockets, they want to
bleed you dry, and they want to make as much money as they can
from that subscription. A baseline tier could focus on
text and basic data in remote areas, which keeps costs aligned

(04:46):
with the limited capacity of space links.
For now. Until of course, SpaceX and
Starlink ramp up their operations with Starship now a
mid tier could bundle traditional city coverage with
satellite fall back, which reduces anxiety about dead zones
on long road trips. And then you could have the

(05:07):
premier tier. And it could add global roaming
and priority support for frequent travellers, media
teams, field workers and just you and me.
We could have regular phone service, but it could be phone
service from space. And you could be always
connected, no matter where you are, no matter what you do, you
could have a connection. And this is a great thing

(05:28):
because I know I've been traveling a lot in the last few
years, and the fact that I have driven hours without a signal in
the mountains is incredible. And when you're out hiking
someplace and there's absolutelyno service, there is no way to
contact people if something happens.

(05:48):
So I understand where they're coming from.
If they want to make a premier brand, they need to consider
phone service, tech service, allthe stuff that we have now, all
the data may need that as well and start like we cannot accept
anything less. If it's just text when they roll
out, I get it. They have to test it.
They're doing that right now with T-Mobile.

(06:11):
But you know there there's goingto be a whole slew of things
that they need to accomplish before this actually happens.
Now they're going to do the E SIM first approach it because it
removes cards like plastic cards.
You know the little SIM cards inan app reduces support overhead
for that. The app can also expose status
indicators that tell you when your phone sits on a ground

(06:33):
tower, like when there's something to to connect to.
Either they might have a partnernetwork if they cannot connect
to the satellite or if you're ona satellite link.
So clear labels will keep peoplefrom guessing, which cuts down
on angry support tickets. And we all know that SpaceX and
Star Lake do not like to answer support calls.

(06:56):
Now this is a credible mobile brand.
Possibly it also needs emergencyfeatures.
People expect 911 calls to routelocation dated to reach
responders, a text to push through during storms.
You need to be able to contact everybody all the time.
A product that carries the word mobile should set expectations

(07:17):
about emergency behaviors in plain language.
And that clarity builds trust early and keeps churn from new
customers low. We don't want these people
coming in for a month or two andbeing like, eh, don't like it
and then leaving. Startling Mobile needs to build
on what current mobile providersprovide.

(07:39):
Now. The international angle adds
layers to this too. A consumer plan that claims
mobile in the name will face country by country rules.
Number assignment in roaming agreements Slows down expansion
a little bit compared to a single nation data service.
Maybe they start in the US because that's where they're
based. Careful rollout sequence that
starts in one market and adds regions in waves wouldn't match

(08:02):
how these launches typically unfold.
Start in the US and in just a certain spot.
That's what they did with regular Starling satellite
service. Start with a few places, Maybe
start in California, maybe startin New York, maybe start in
Florida. Places.
They have clear skies all the time.
Arizona, New York isn't a good example of that by the way.

(08:22):
I but start places that have a clear sky would be a great way
to start this out, test this system, test the limits, and
then move on from there. So there might be some technical
constraints too, for anyone dreaming of phone calls from the
wilderness. Satellite coverage can extend
reach, but capacity remains finite.

(08:43):
So it just depends on how many satellites they have in orbit.
And you share your signal with everybody else as well.
That favors text first features before phone calls.
So maybe they start a roll out really early with just text and
data. But if there's heavy storms,
it's hard for satellites no matter who you are.

(09:04):
Even if you are * lake, it's difficult to get a get reception
through those storms. So we all know how difficult it
is to reach somebody when you'refar away, but add a storm into
that in the possibility of reaching somebody, whether it's
data or a phone call is very difficult.

(09:27):
Now there's going to be trade-offs upfront, but they're
not going to over promise right away.
Elon will of course, we all knowElon will over promise.
He'll say that it's going to be the best thing ever and it's
going to connect to humanity more than we've ever been
connected and etcetera, etcetera.
But those things are going to bemitigated over time and they're

(09:50):
going to start small, of course,like tiny, tiny, tiny.
On the network side, a startlingmobile label would apply, a full
service for subscribers, a phonenumber, authentication,
voicemail, spam controls and call features that like
everybody knows already well built product.
How's the complexity of how thissignal reaches you?

(10:12):
You don't even think about your cell phone, do you?
You don't think about your phoneor how you get connected, how
your phone transmits to a relay station and then it transmits to
somebody. You don't think it just works,
right? And that's what Starlink is
going to be doing and it's goingto focus on familiar experiences
that anyone can use right away. So there's going to be an app to

(10:32):
sign up. Super simple sign up.
Probably a I would assume a fivestep process, maybe name, phone
number, e-mail address to start with.
Maybe your current, like your current physical address as well
if you have one, depending on regulations and then what tier

(10:55):
you want. I mean, I could see them
breaking this down. It depends on what the
regulations are wherever you are.
But I can see them breaking thisdown into like the smallest
bits, right? Because phone companies, when
they get all your information, they don't just get it for
themselves. They sell all your data.
They sell your data to other brokers so they can make money
off you even if you're not usingtheir service.

(11:15):
So they have their hands in so many different cookie jars here
and they're making money even ifyou aren't signed up.
So they'll sell it to other mobile carriers, they'll sell it
to other outreach programs, whatever.
They sell your data. So I can see start like making
it super simple to sign up, scanAQR code, start your thing,

(11:37):
maybe 3 steps. What do you want your phone
number to be? Here's the ones available.
Here you go. And that's it.
You don't need anything else unless there's regulations, of
course. So this is going to be of
course, very slow, very slow roll out.
Maybe they, they might, they might partner with somebody like
T-Mobile who they've already partnered with for those

(11:59):
overlaps. If you cannot connect to a
satellite, maybe T-Mobile will be the backup for that because
they already have a partnership with them.
So that's going to be a something to really think about
because Starlink cannot work everywhere.
It doesn't really work well in cities like a major city like
New York City or LA. The buildings get in the way and

(12:23):
you can't have a signal. So they must partner with
somebody else who's local in order for you to get that
signal. So there might be, I mean, there
might be a way for them to figure this out, but maybe
there's a relay, maybe they haverelay stations throughout the
city on rooftops or I am not 100% sure what they're going to
be doing. But remember how long it took

(12:44):
mobile carriers to get us where we are now in the speeds that we
have now was because they spent decades building out this
infrastructure and it's like they didn't do it overnight.
And of course, Starlink is, they're building it over time,
but it there's not going to be aStarlink service right away that

(13:04):
will be able to penetrate buildings.
There's no way that, I mean, they just can't do it.
That's not how physics works. So what should you watch next if
you care about this? We're going to look for
regulatory filings that describemobile services in plain terms
that we can all read. Look for partner mentions and

(13:25):
marketing copy. Starling might send something
out in an e-mail with some hintsor tips, and there are going to
be a leaks, I'm sure, and I lookfor help with that.
With the leaks now, a press event that shows an E SIM
activation end to end would marka huge step, of course, but

(13:45):
that's not going to happen anytime soon.
This is just a trademark. We don't have to think about it
too deep right now. It's going to be years before
this thing comes out because they don't even have Starship up
launching Starlinks yet. Once they get Starship launching
Starlink, I think that's when weshould really think about this
because right now, even though they got the trademark, they

(14:07):
might not have the the systems in place to get this started.
But who knows, they may have Starlink mobile as a a Co brand
to their T-Mobile partnership. So it does not guarantee you a
launch date at all, but it does reveal some intent from SpaceX.
When a company with an existing connectivity brand moves to

(14:29):
reserve a consumer phone label, it sets expectations.
Now, simplest read is often the right one.
Reserve name points toward a product the company wants to
sell under that name. So Starlink Mobile might exist
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