Can Elon Musk's Starlink phone be launched in two years?

Elon Musk's Starlink project has taken a new step. In an interview program, he mentioned that Starlink phones will be launched in two years. The Starlink phone Musk talked about is actually not very different from an ordinary phone. The biggest difference is that it can directly connect to satellites, allowing users to make calls and send text messages without relying on ground base stations.

Musk admitted in the program that he has spent $17 billion on purchasing frequency bands to enable satellites and the Starlink network to directly connect with phones. He added that this deal allows SpaceX to provide high - bandwidth connections directly from satellites to phones, but the phones need hardware adjustments. Since current phones do not support these frequency bands, the phone's chipset needs to be modified to add support for these frequencies.

The ultimate effect is that you can watch high - definition videos on your phone at any time, without being affected by the signal strength of ground base stations. However, in indoor environments, these frequency bands can be used normally in ordinary houses, but may be affected in buildings with thick metal roofs.

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So... what is a Starlink phone?

To understand satellite phones, you first need to know how our current phones work. Your phone is actually a small radio station, which communicates with nearby base stations through electromagnetic waves. After the base station receives your signal, it transmits the information to the telecommunications company's switching center via fiber - optic or microwave links, and finally to the other person's phone. The whole process seems smooth, but there is a fatal problem: the coverage of base stations is limited, only about a few kilometers to dozens of kilometers.

This is why you often have no signal in the deep mountains and old forests, because it is too costly for telecommunications companies to build base stations in every corner. There are vast areas around the world, including oceans, deserts, and polar regions, that are communication blind spots. Statistics show that about half of the Earth's surface lacks reliable mobile communication coverage.

The idea of satellite communication is not new. As early as the 1990s, some companies tried satellite phones, such as the Iridium system. However, satellite phones at that time had several major problems: the devices were huge and bulky, the call charges were extremely expensive, and the signal quality was not very good. A satellite phone could be as big as a brick, and the call charge could be dozens of dollars per minute, which was unaffordable for ordinary people.

The Starlink phone is not a dedicated satellite phone but can directly connect to the base stations on satellites. This sounds simple, but in fact, it has a relatively high technical difficulty.

You know, ground base stations are only a few kilometers away from you, while satellites are hundreds or even tens of thousands of kilometers above the ground. As the distance increases, the signal weakens, which is a physical law and cannot be changed. The signal strength is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. That is to say, if the distance doubles, the signal strength becomes one - fourth of the original. Satellites are dozens of times farther away than base stations, so the signal strength is thousands of times weaker.

The transmission power of your phone is originally not large, only about a few watts. With this power, the signal sent to a satellite hundreds of kilometers away is as weak as a mosquito's buzz. What's worse, satellites are moving at high speed, traveling several kilometers per second, which creates the Doppler Effect. Just like the siren of an ambulance gets sharper when it approaches and lower when it moves away, the movement of satellites also changes the frequency of radio signals.

Starlink's direct - to - phone service uses a clever solution. Each satellite with direct - connection capabilities is equipped with an eNodeB base station device, which is equivalent to placing a standard 4G base station in space. From the phone's perspective, this satellite base station is just like an ordinary ground base station, and it can communicate using the standard LTE protocol.

The advantage of this design is high compatibility. Existing phones can use satellite services without any hardware modifications. However, the challenge is that satellite base stations need to handle a more complex signal propagation environment, including long - distance transmission, Doppler frequency shift, and rapid handover.

To solve the Doppler Effect, Starlink satellites use advanced signal processing algorithms. Satellites know their exact position and speed, and can also obtain the approximate position of users through GPS and other means. Therefore, they can pre - calculate the magnitude of the Doppler frequency shift and perform corresponding frequency compensation.

Satellite handover is also a technical difficulty. When a satellite flies out of the coverage area, the communication needs to be seamlessly transferred to another satellite. This process needs to be completed within a few seconds without interrupting ongoing calls or data transmission. Starlink uses a soft - handover technology similar to that of ground networks, allowing the phone to maintain connections with multiple satellites simultaneously and then gradually transfer to the satellite with the strongest signal.

Traditional phone chips cannot handle such complex situations. They are designed assuming that base stations are stationary and the signal strength is relatively stable. Now, to adapt to fast - moving satellites, smarter algorithms and stronger processing capabilities are required.

Musk's solution is a Low Earth Orbit Constellation. Starlink satellites operate in an orbit about 550 kilometers above the ground, much closer than traditional geostationary satellites. Geostationary satellites are at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers, and it takes half a second for the signal to travel back and forth, resulting in obvious delays when making calls.

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Although low - Earth - orbit satellites are closer, they bring new problems: they move faster, and the coverage area of a single satellite is smaller.

To solve the coverage problem, the Starlink project plans to launch tens of thousands of small satellites to form a huge satellite network. These satellites work like a relay race. When one satellite flies out of your line of sight, another satellite enters the coverage area. This seamless handover requires precise orbit calculations and complex network coordination.

The biggest technical challenge is antenna design. Satellite signals are weak, so high - gain antennas are needed for reception. However, high - gain antennas are usually directional and need to be pointed at the satellite to work. The problem is that satellites move quickly in the sky, and the antenna also needs to rotate accordingly. Traditional satellite phones have a large antenna that can be adjusted manually or automatically.

Ordinary phones obviously cannot accommodate such an antenna. Musk's team came up with the idea of a phased array antenna. This antenna consists of many small antenna units. By electronically controlling the phase of each unit, the direction of the antenna can be changed without physical rotation. It's like conducting a choir, making different people sing at different times to achieve the desired sound effect.

The picture shows the Starlink phased array antenna currently used by SpaceX.

The advantage of phased array antennas is their fast response speed. They can change the direction instantly to keep up with fast - moving satellites. However, the problems are high cost, high power consumption, and the need for complex control circuits. It is indeed not easy to incorporate these technologies into a phone while maintaining a reasonable price and battery life.

Signal processing is also a major problem. Satellite signals are not only weak but also subject to various interferences. The atmosphere absorbs and scatters radio waves, especially during rain. This phenomenon is called rain attenuation, which is particularly severe in certain frequency bands. Phones need stronger error - correction capabilities and more intelligent signal processing algorithms.

Modern digital communication systems use various coding techniques to combat noise and interference. For example, Convolutional Codes, Turbo Codes, and Low - Density Parity - Check Codes. These coding methods can add redundant information to the signal so that the original information can be recovered even if part of the data is lost or corrupted. However, stronger error - correction capabilities mean more computational workload and longer processing time.

Spectrum resources are also a limiting factor. The radio spectrum is like a highway with a limited number of lanes. Satellite communication needs to use specific frequency bands, and these bands are already occupied by various services. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is responsible for coordinating global spectrum allocation to ensure that different services do not interfere with each other.

Starlink currently uses the Ku and Ka bands, with frequencies between 12 - 18 GHz and 26 - 40 GHz. The advantage of these bands is large bandwidth, which can transmit more data. However, the disadvantage is poor penetration ability, and they are easily blocked by buildings and trees. This is why satellite phones often have no signal indoors.

To enable ordinary phones to support satellite communication, the power consumption problem also needs to be solved. Satellite signals are weak, so phones need higher transmission power for satellites to receive the signals. However, the battery capacity of phones is limited, and power consumption cannot be increased indefinitely. A balance needs to be found between communication quality and battery life.

One solution is Adaptive Power Control. Phones automatically adjust the transmission power according to the current signal conditions, reducing power when the signal is good and increasing it when the signal is poor. More efficient modulation methods and coding techniques can also be used to transmit more information with the same power consumption.

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If a phone is to connect to satellites, its network architecture also needs to be redesigned. The traditional mobile communication network is hierarchical. Phones connect to base stations, base stations connect to base station controllers, and base station controllers connect to mobile switching centers. The satellite network is more like a distributed system. Each satellite is both a base station and a router, and it needs to intelligently select the best communication path.

Inter - satellite links also need to be established between satellites, allowing data to be transmitted directly in space without detouring through ground stations every time. This can reduce latency and improve network efficiency. However, inter - satellite links require precise pointing control and high - speed data processing capabilities.

From the user experience perspective, the Starlink phone is still a phone, and call quality should definitely be the top priority. Due to signal latency and possible interruptions, call quality may not be as stable as that of ground networks. Secondly, data speed. Although satellite networks can theoretically provide high - speed data transmission, considering bandwidth allocation and the number of users, the actual speed may be limited.

Another problem is indoor coverage. As mentioned before, satellite signals have difficulty penetrating buildings, which means that satellite phones are mainly suitable for outdoor scenarios. Indoors, they still need to rely on traditional ground networks. This requires the phone to be able to intelligently switch between satellite and ground networks.

In addition to technological solutions, regulation is also a complex issue. Different countries have different regulatory requirements for satellite communication. Some countries restrict or ban satellite communication services for security reasons. Musk needs to obtain corresponding licenses in each target market, and this process may be very long.

Despite these challenges, satellite phone technology is developing rapidly. In addition to Starlink, companies such as Amazon's Project Kuiper and the UK's OneWeb are also planning similar services. Competition will drive technological progress and cost reduction.

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From an industrial perspective, Starlink phones may bring profound changes. The monopoly position of traditional telecom operators may be challenged, especially in providing communication services in remote areas. New business models may emerge, such as pay - as - you - go global communication services or professional communication solutions for specific industries.

For consumers, the greatest value of Starlink phones lies in providing ubiquitous connectivity. Whether you are on Mount Everest or in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, you can stay connected to the outside world. This is particularly valuable for emergency rescue, remote work, adventure travel, and other scenarios.

Satellite phones may also give rise to new applications and services. For example, new types of location - based services that combine satellite communication and navigation to provide more accurate positioning and route planning.

However, this change will not happen overnight. Traditional operators still control most users and infrastructure. Musk said that they cannot make other operators disappear, so they are also actively seeking cooperation with satellite operators. For example, the cooperation between T - Mobile and Starlink allows users to automatically switch to the satellite network when there is no ground signal.

This cooperation model may be the mainstream trend in the future. Operators provide ground networks and user services, while satellite companies provide coverage supplementation, and both parties can get what they need. This can not only leverage their respective advantages but also reduce investment risks.

From a technological development perspective, the Starlink phone is just the beginning. With the development of 6G technology, the integration of ground and satellite networks will be more in - depth. The future communication network may be a three - dimensional architecture, including ground base stations, low - altitude platforms, low - Earth - orbit satellites, medium - Earth - orbit satellites, and high - Earth - orbit satellites, forming seamless global coverage.

Of course, all this takes time. Technical maturity, cost reduction, and regulatory improvement are not things that can be achieved overnight. However, the trend is obvious, and the sky is becoming our new communication infrastructure. Maybe in a few years, the phrase "no signal" will become history.

This article is from the WeChat official account “Zimubang” (ID: wujicaijing), author: Miao Zheng, published by 36Kr with authorization.