SAN DIEGO, CA, Nov. 4, 2026 — SpaceX has chosen chipmaker Qualcomm to supply the base-station technology for Starlink Mobile's planned nationwide 5G network in the U.S., the companies announced Wednesday, as Elon Musk's company moves to compete with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.
Under the multiyear agreement, SpaceX plans to start rolling out the ground network in 2027, with tens of thousands of sites deployed over the life of the deal, Qualcomm said in its announcement. Financial terms weren't disclosed, CNBC reported. Qualcomm said it's the company's largest 5G initiative to date, CNBC reported, and The Verge described it as Qualcomm's "biggest 5G deal yet."
What Starlink says it's building
Starlink announced the deal on X Wednesday morning: "Starlink Mobile is building the first fully-integrated US nationwide satellite and terrestrial network that will keep people connected on their phones no matter where they are. Our 5G base stations will leverage @Qualcomm chips to accelerate deployment, starting in 2027."
Musk reposted it with: "At last there will be one network with good signal everywhere!" (post). In a separate post, he wrote, "Qualcomm's technology is excellent" (post).
"We shouldn't live in a time where phone calls are still dropping whether you're at home or on-the-go," said Michael Nicolls, Starlink's senior vice president, in Qualcomm's release. "We're excited to collaborate with Qualcomm Technologies and leverage their industry expertise and platform to accelerate our timeline to develop our base station end-to-end architecture."
The technology, in plain terms
Starlink's satellites already beam broadband internet to millions of U.S. subscribers, but the satellite network can't provide all the voice, video and data coverage that rival carriers offer on phones, CNBC reported. The ground network is meant to fill that gap.
Qualcomm will supply its Dragonwing QRU100 and QDU100 platforms plus what it calls "commercial-grade Layer 1 software," the release said. In simpler terms:
- The radios. Each site will use "Massive MIMO" radio units with 64 transmit and 64 receive paths, known as 64T64R. More antenna paths let a tower aim signals at many phones at once, which Qualcomm says improves coverage, capacity and how efficiently the network uses its airwaves.
- The processing. The QRU100 handles processing inside the radio units, and the QDU100 handles fast, time-sensitive processing in the "distributed unit" that sits behind the radios.
- Power use. Qualcomm says the platforms are built to get more performance per watt, which lowers the cost of running each site.
The release says the network will be multi-band and built in several rollout waves. "Together with SpaceX, we are building world-leading cellular infrastructure in the United States, advancing 5G today, with an opportunity to lay the foundation for AI-native 6G in the years ahead," said Durga Malladi, Qualcomm's executive vice president for technology planning, edge solutions and data center.
Why it matters for the phone business
Starlink accounted for 36% of SpaceX's revenue and 85% of its operating profit in the third quarter, CNBC reported. Last month, SpaceX announced a deal to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio in the 800 MHz band, and the Washington Post reported earlier this week that SpaceX is in talks to acquire EchoStar's Boost Mobile, according to CNBC.
Qualcomm is best known for the modems and radios inside phones, not network base stations, though it has pushed into 5G infrastructure since 2020, with earlier deals including Verizon, Dish and Europe's Vodafone, CNBC reported.
SpaceX hasn't named cell tower partners or said how many new towers it might need, CNBC reported. Carriers usually lease space from tower companies such as American Tower and Crown Castle. SpaceX didn't respond to CNBC's request for more information.
For early Starlink customers: a free new dish
Separately, Musk posted Wednesday, "Free new dish for all early Starlink customers" (post). Starlink's support page says eligible customers "who were among the first to connect with Starlink, and who are still using a first-generation kit can receive a new Standard kit at no cost." They'll get a free mount and can opt in to free installation. Eligible customers will get an email invitation, the page says. The old dish shuts off when the new one comes online or 14 days after delivery, whichever comes first, and it doesn't need to be returned.
Markets react
The deal landed on a rough day for Musk's companies on Wall Street. Shares of SpaceX were down 5.5% and Tesla 5.1%, lagging the broader market, Reuters reported in a story updated at 11:24 a.m. Musk spent nearly half a billion dollars backing Republican candidates, and Democrats won both chambers of Congress Tuesday, Reuters said.
Analysts expect Democrats to look harder at data-center projects, which matter to SpaceX's AI business, Reuters reported. Musk posted on X, "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now," Reuters said. See Launchpad's markets story for more on Wednesday's trading.
What's next
SpaceX plans to combine the new ground network with its constellation of direct-to-cell satellites, The Verge reported. The companies haven't said where the first sites will go.
Sources: Qualcomm news release; CNBC; The Verge; Starlink and Elon Musk on X; Starlink support; Reuters.
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