Deutsche Telekom CEO Estimates SpaceX's Mobile Market Costs at $200 Billion
He called Elon Musk's plans a serious threat to the industry
The CEO of Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile, estimated SpaceX's potential costs to establish a major mobile operator in the U.S. at a minimum of $200 billion. This was reported by The Verge, citing his remarks during a discussion of financial results.
According to Tim Höttges, SpaceX has acquired 76 MHz of spectrum, while T-Mobile holds approximately 400 MHz. He believes expanding spectrum resources will require investments amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. An additional $20–30 billion may be needed for access to tower infrastructure, on top of equipment costs.
The $200 billion figure represents the assessment of a competing company's executive, not SpaceX's announced budget.
Starlink Mobile plans to combine direct-to-smartphone satellites with a terrestrial mobile network. This week, Qualcomm announced collaboration with SpaceX to develop its infrastructure.
Despite skepticism regarding the costs, Höttges emphasized that he takes the project seriously. In his view, the combination of satellites, AI, and digital services could enable SpaceX to offer a new format of connectivity.
