Bringing mobile connectivity to nowhere

T-Mobile and Space X announced their “Coverage Above & Beyond” partnership to bring about the “end of mobile dead zones.” It is one of a growing number of announced partnerships, ventures and rumors of similar nature and purpose of expanding the frontier of connectivity where it hasn’t gone before. “Coverage Above & Beyond” promises to provide satellite-based cellular connectivity directly to T-Mobile’s current smartphones thereby providing coverage anywhere in the U.S., its territories, as well as the vast unregulated oceans. However, much of the technical burden seems to rest on the shoulders of SpaceX that will have to develop a new generation of LEO satellites capable of satellite-to-device communications. T-Mobile will be lending a sliver of its mid-band PCS 1900 MHz spectrum for the service. Yet, the fact remains that T-Mobile and SpaceX are not the first to partner or invest in providing satellite-to-handset cellular services. The burning questions are the commercial viability of this partnership in an industry plagued by bankruptcy, and whether this endeavor, which involves the development of a new platform, makes commercial sense for SpaceX. Time will tell. 

[Leonard Lee is founder and managing director of neXt Curve, a research advisory firm focused on Information and Communication industry and technology research.]