Smartphone chipmaker MediaTek is preparing to support SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile, a satellite-to-phone service designed to eliminate cellular dead zones.
MediaTek today said it’s working with SpaceX “to support wireless emergency alert messages via satellite communication.” The Taiwanese chipmaker is also demoing the tech at Mobile World Congress on its M90 5G modem, which the company debuted a year ago.
The partnership is notable, given that MediaTek holds about a 34% share of the smartphone chip market, with its processors popular in midrange handsets.
MediaTek’s announcement only focused on satellite-powered emergency alert messages, including for earthquakes and tsunami warnings. Still, we wouldn’t be surprised if the collaboration goes further. In a keynote at MWC on Monday, SpaceX executives made a huge push to promote Starlink Mobile as a way for mobile carriers to offer satellite connectivity to users in remote areas without a cellular connection.
(Credit: MWC)
The satellite-to-phone service is already available through T-Mobile, using the carrier’s 1.91 to 1.995GHz spectrum. It’s currently bandwidth-constrained, but SpaceX is promising a huge 5G upgrade to Starlink Mobile that promises to unleash download speeds up to 150Mbps, more than enough to power high-quality video calls and possibly even game streaming.
To do so, the company is preparing to launch next-generation satellites designed to harness valuable radio spectrum that SpaceX is buying from Boost Mobile’s parent, EchoStar. The problem is that today’s smartphones don’t support the 2GHz “S-band” frequencies that SpaceX is acquiring. So, the company needs to work with chip and modem makers to integrate the radio frequencies, a process SpaceX CEO Elon Musk estimates will take about two years.
Interestingly, SpaceX’s VP for Satellite Engineering, Michael Nicolls, tweeted that his company is testing wireless emergency alerts in Europe using the S-band, in partnership with MediaTek.
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In his MWC keynote, Nicolls also said the upgraded Starlink Mobile will be supported “on most devices in the US” by mid-2027, when the company expects to launch the first next-generation satellites for the service. “We’re also working closely with device manufacturers and modem manufacturers to enable the service on as many devices as quickly as possible,” he said.
Samsung, another major smartphone chipmaker, has reportedly also been working on its own modem to support Starlink Mobile.
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About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.