--- title: "SpaceX Makes Its Biggest Move Yet Against Telecom Giants With Qualcomm 5G Deal: Elon Musk Hails QCOM's Technology, Calls It 'Excellent'" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/304393493.md" description: "SpaceX has partnered with Qualcomm to build Starlink Mobile’s nationwide terrestrial 5G network, challenging major telecoms like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Using Qualcomm's Dragonwing technology, the rollout begins in 2027. Elon Musk praised Qualcomm's technology as 'excellent.' While traditional carriers express concern over regulatory and technological hurdles, SpaceX aims to fundamentally alter the sector." datetime: "2026-11-05T06:59:00.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/304393493.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/304393493.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/304393493.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # SpaceX Makes Its Biggest Move Yet Against Telecom Giants With Qualcomm 5G Deal: Elon Musk Hails QCOM's Technology, Calls It 'Excellent' **Space Exploration Technologies Corp.** and chipmaker **Qualcomm Inc**.’s infrastructure to power its upcoming terrestrial cellular service as it prepares to challenge traditional telecom companies like **AT&T Inc.** , **Verizon Communications Inc.** and **T-Mobile US Inc.**. ## SpaceX to Use Qualcomm’s Dragonwing Technology In an official statement released on Wednesday, the semiconductor company said that it was partnering with SpaceX to buildout its “Starlink Mobile U.S. nationwide terrestrial 5G network” with the company’s Dragonwing QRU100 and QDU100 5G platforms. “SpaceX plans for U.S. nationwide deployment rollout to begin in 2027, with tens of thousands of sites deployed over the multi-year agreement,” Qualcomm said. The company says its infrastructure will use a 64T64R architecture, which essentially means the towers will have 64 individual transmitters and receivers in each antenna panel to provide coverage. The QRU100 provides integrated processing for Massive MIMO radio units, supporting the radio functions behind the 64T64R architecture. The QDU100 handles high-performance, latency-sensitive Layer 1 baseband processing. “We shouldn’t live in a time where phone calls are still dropping whether you’re at home or on-the-go,” SpaceX’s VP of Starlink **Michael Nicolls** said in the statement. “Together with SpaceX, we are building world-leading cellular infrastructure in the United States, advancing 5G today, with an opportunity to lay the foundation for AI-native 6G in the years ahead,” Qualcomm Executive **Durga Malladi** said. ## Elon Musk Hails the Deal Following the announcement, SpaceX CEO **Elon Musk** took to the social media platform **X** to express his thoughts on the deal. “Qualcomm’s technology is excellent,” Musk said, quoting a post by the chipmaker’s CEO **Cristiano R. Amon** on Wednesday. > Qualcomm’s technology is excellent https://t.co/CjRNbKK8H3 > > — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2026 ## Traditional Telecom Vs. SpaceX Starlink’s entry into the cellular network space has drawn concern and ire from traditional telecom operators. CEO Musk, late last month, said that Starlink was introducing new pieces in the cell service “chess board” that could “fundamentally alter” the sector. He had also said that the service will cause an “earthquake” the telecom industry. However, Verizon CEO **Dan Schulman**, during the company’s Q3 2026 earnings call, said that there could be room for collaboration with SpaceX, but warned that there were no “backdoors to any of our MVNO agreements” and that he did not see the “benefit” to extending an “MVNO deal to any satellite provider.” On the other hand, executives from all traditional telecom companies think that satellite providers will not be able to compete with terrestrial networks, due to regulatory hurdles, as well as technological and physical limitations. **Price Action:** SPCX shares were down 1.77% to $133.52 during overnight trading on Wednesday. ### Related Stocks - [QCOM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/QCOM.US.md) - [SPCX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPCX.US.md) - [DSPC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DSPC.US.md) - [LOFF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LOFF.US.md) - [QCMD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/QCMD.US.md) - [QCML.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/QCML.US.md) - [QCMU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/QCMU.US.md) - [SNK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SNK.US.md) - [SPAL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPAL.US.md) - [SPCF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPCF.US.md) - [SPCG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPCG.US.md) - [SPCH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPCH.US.md) - [SPCM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPCM.US.md) - [SPCU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPCU.US.md) - [SSPC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SSPC.US.md) - [YSPC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/YSPC.US.md) - [T.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/T.US.md) - [TMUS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TMUS.US.md) - [VZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VZ.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [BUZZ-Street View: AI upside beckons, but Qualcomm still has something to prove](https://longbridge.com/en/news/304447168.md) - [SpaceX moves to challenge AT&T, Verizon with Qualcomm-powered 5G](https://longbridge.com/en/news/304312613.md) - [Qualcomm To Power SpaceX's Masive 5G Nationwide Network As Musk Takes Aim At Telecom Giants](https://longbridge.com/en/news/304325539.md) - [SpaceX Hits Back at T-Mobile’s ‘Misplaced Desire’ to Harm Starlink by Opposing ‘Modernized’ Spectrum Rules](https://longbridge.com/en/news/303744264.md) - [SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile Plans Rattle America’s Three Largest Wireless Carriers](https://longbridge.com/en/news/304125218.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**