SpaceX and Charter are in talks to collaborate on mobile phone services, with the satellite giant accelerating its entry into the consumer-level communication market.

According to sources, SpaceX and the largest home internet service provider in the United States, Charter Communications Inc., have held high-level discussions, exploring potential collaboration in the consumer mobile phone business. Under the proposed plan, Charter could use its ground internet infrastructure to carry some of SpaceX's mobile communication traffic, similar to its existing Spectrum Mobile service. If finalized, this partnership would help SpaceX take a crucial step towards becoming a direct-to-consumer mobile phone provider. SpaceX has just completed a historic initial public offering, with its largest source of revenue currently being the satellite-based Starlink home internet service. The company currently offers the Starlink Mobile add-on service through T-Mobile US Inc., priced at $10 per month, enabling text messaging and internet-based voice calls in remote areas. Charter declined to comment, and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. Ground infrastructure supplements satellite weaknesses, spectrum resource deployment is already underway According to reports earlier this week, SpaceX has informed investors of its plans to offer mobile services directly to consumers. In addition to its existing satellite spectrum holdings, the company will need to acquire a significant amount of mobile spectrum and ground infrastructure. In a recent auction by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States, SpaceX successfully secured rights to AWS-3 band mobile spectrum, after acquiring some mobile spectrum rights from EchoStar Corp. last year. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell recently stated in an interview, "The user base of Starlink Mobile will far exceed that of Starlink home broadband. Not everyone needs home Starlink broadband, there are many other options on the market. But I believe the number of Starlink Mobile users will far surpass our home broadband business." Last year, Charter reached a merger agreement with Cox Communications, increasing its user base by over 20%. Through its Spectrum Mobile brand, Charter offers wireless phone services to its cable TV and home internet customers, relying on infrastructure leasing agreements with T-Mobile and Verizon Communications, routing most traffic through its own Wi-Fi network. If the potential collaboration with SpaceX goes through, it would not only help SpaceX fill in the gaps in its ground network and accelerate its mobile communication strategy, but could also open up new wholesale business revenue sources for Charter, further shaking up the already competitive landscape of the U.S. wireless communication market.