SpaceX and Charter Communications Inc. have held executive-level talks about partnering on a consumer mobile phone offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
Charter, the largest home internet provider in the US, could run some of SpaceX’s phone traffic through its ground-based internet infrastructure, much as it does with its Spectrum Mobile offering presently, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the discussions are private.
A deal, if finalized, would help SpaceX along its desired path toward becoming more of a direct-to-consumer mobile phone provider. The company, which just completed a historic initial public offering, gets the largest share of profits from its satellite-based Starlink home internet service. The company offers its Starlink Mobile service as a $10-a-month add-on through T-Mobile US Inc., allowing text messages and internet-based calls from remote areas.
Charter declined to comment. SpaceX didn’t respond to a request for one.
The Financial Times reported earlier on Friday that SpaceX told investors it plans to offer mobile service directly to consumers. To do so, it would need a large amount of mobile spectrum and ground-based infrastructure in addition to its satellite spectrum holdings. In a recent Federal Communications Commission auction, SpaceX successfully bid for mobile spectrum rights in the AWS-3 band, following its purchase of mobile spectrum rights from EchoStar Corp. last year.
