The Federal Communications Commission’s approval of a Supplemental Coverage from Space partnership between T-Mobile and Starlink in November 2024 signaled that satellite phones are no longer just for remote expeditions. T-Mobile has said the deal could reach about 30% of the United States that it considers dead zones, putting everyday handsets in places where only satellite dishes used to work. Starlink’s speed and reach are now racing past many land-based rivals, while regulators are struggling to adapt rules built for cables and cell towers to a network that lives in orbit.
Starlink’s Performance Surge
An academic crowdsourced study of U.S. mobile-network data between October 2024 and April 2025 offers some of the first independent measurements of direct-to-device and Supplemental Coverage from Space behavior. Researchers used measurement techniques familiar from cellular performance testing to track signal metrics and infer capacity limits for SCS-style links that rely on satellites instead of traditional base stations. The study’s authors describe how these early connections can provide basic messaging and data service but also show clear constraints in throughput compared with fully terrestrial 4G and 5G networks.
According to the arXiv paper, the inferred throughput rates for SCS-style connectivity fall below the speeds consumers typically associate with home broadband, even as signal coverage extends into areas that lack any land-based option. That tradeoff helps explain why Starlink’s traditional dish-based service can feel faster than many cable or DSL connections, yet its direct-to-device experiments still look more like a safety net than a full replacement for ground networks. The measurements provide rare, independent evidence that capacity, interference management, and handset integration will shape how quickly Starlink and its partners can move beyond basic coverage into genuinely high-speed mobile service.
Regulatory Framework Evolution
The Federal Communications Commission created a formal lane for this kind of hybrid service when it adopted Supplemental Coverage from Space rules, which the Government Accountability Office records as published in the Federal Register on April 30, 2024 and effective May 30, 2024. The Authoritative FCC record describes how the SCS framework lets satellite operators coordinate with mobile carriers so that phones can roam onto satellites using licensed terrestrial spectrum. That shift turns what had been experimental projects into a regulated service category with defined expectations for interference, emergency access, and consumer protection.
In announcing the SCS regime, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel framed the rules as a way to close dead zones that conventional towers have not reached. The Federal Register entry ties the policy to a broader push to treat satellite and mobile networks as complementary parts of a single system rather than separate industries. For Starlink, those rules create a clearer path to work with carriers like T-Mobile, but they also bind the company to terrestrial-style obligations on issues such as 911 access and spectrum sharing that were not designed with thousands of fast-moving satellites in mind.
Key Approvals Fueling Growth
The SCS framework set the stage for the FCC’s November 2024 decision to approve a license for the T-Mobile and Starlink partnership, which allows Starlink satellites to use T-Mobile’s spectrum for Supplemental Coverage from Space. Reporting on the approval notes that Major FCC SCS Mobile Starlink and filings describe text messaging as an early use case, with the prospect of voice and data as the system matures. Chair Jessica Rosenworcel highlighted T-Mobile’s estimate that roughly 30% of the U.S. land area counts as dead zones, arguing that satellite-augmented mobile service can reach people who currently have no signal at all.
Growth on the orbital side has been just as aggressive. In January 2026, the FCC granted SpaceX permission to deploy another 7,500 Gen2 satellites, bringing the total authorized Gen2 constellation to 15,000 spacecraft. Coverage of the decision explains that the Major FCC Jan Helps order ties that expansion to specific orbital shells, spectrum bands, and deployment deadlines, while signaling continuing scrutiny of debris risks and spectrum sharing. For regulators, each new wave of satellites increases both Starlink’s capacity and the complexity of managing interference with other operators and ground-based services.
Hurdles and Denials
Regulatory enthusiasm for Starlink’s coverage gains has not translated into a blank check. In December 2023 the FCC issued a final decision denying approximately $885 million in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support to Starlink, concluding that the company had not demonstrated it could meet the program’s performance requirements. Reporting on the decision quotes the agency’s view that Major FCC RDOF Starlink had failed to show it could reliably deliver the promised speeds and latency to subsidized locations, even as early users reported strong performance in many areas.
The RDOF denial, which specifically referenced $885 m and $885 million in rejected support, highlights a mismatch between traditional subsidy standards and the realities of a fast-scaling satellite network. Programs like RDOF were designed around fixed wireline and cable deployments with stable capacity and predictable upgrade paths, while Starlink’s performance depends on ongoing satellite launches, evolving ground equipment, and complex spectrum coordination. That tension leaves regulators trying to judge a moving target using benchmarks that assume far more static infrastructure.
Broader Policy Tensions
Federal broadband policy has tried to keep satellites in the mix without letting them displace fiber and other high-capacity options. Final guidance for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program explains that Low Earth Orbit systems are eligible only in limited circumstances where fiber and similar technologies are not feasible. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Primary BEAD Low Earth Orbit LEO Provides the blog post on alternative broadband technology describes how states can use BEAD funds for non-fiber projects, but only under strict reimbursement and award structures that treat satellites as a last resort.
At the same time, Starlink is expanding beyond fixed broadband into mobile connectivity through spectrum deals that test the edges of current rules. A high-profile transaction between SpaceX and EchoStar involved licenses in bands relevant to satellite-to-phone links and was described as part of Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell ambitions. Coverage of the deal characterizes it as a Major Starlink Direct Cell Useful for example of how commercial arrangements can reshape spectrum access faster than regulators can update allocation tables. Those moves deepen the policy dilemma: Starlink’s expanding capabilities make it more attractive as an infrastructure option, just as federal guidance tries to keep fiber at the center of long-term planning.
Unresolved Challenges Ahead
Security oversight is one area where regulators are still catching up to Starlink’s consumer footprint. A company compliance statement filed in a national telecom-security regime spells out how Starlink positions its user terminals and software, including a promise to provide security updates for five years from the date of sale. The document, which Primary Starlink Helps regulators evaluate hardware and software risk, shows that Starlink is trying to fit its products into frameworks originally crafted for smartphones and routers rather than satellite dishes that sit in backyards and on rooftops.
Orbital debris and long-term capacity also hang over every new approval. The FCC’s authorization for another 7,500 G satellites, bringing the total Gen2 count to 15,000, came with conditions that, as Ars reporting notes, reflect ongoing concern about congestion and collision risk in Low Earth Orbit. At the same time, the academic SCS study’s inferred throughput metrics suggest that simply adding more satellites will not automatically deliver fiber-like speeds to every phone. With limited evidence so far on how these systems perform at full scale, regulators are trying to write rules that assume both rapid improvement and the possibility that physical limits on spectrum and orbital capacity will cap what satellite networks can do.
More from Morning Overview
*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
