SpaceX, Charter discussed mobile phone partnership in U.S.

SpaceX and Charter Communications Inc. have held executive-level talks about partnering on a consumer mobile phone offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

Charter, the largest home internet provider in the US, could run some of SpaceX’s phone traffic through its ground-based internet infrastructure, much as it does with its Spectrum Mobile offering presently, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the discussions are private. 

A deal, if finalized, would help SpaceX along its desired path toward becoming more of a direct-to-consumer mobile phone provider. The company, which just completed a historic initial public offering, gets the largest share of profits from its satellite-based Starlink home internet service. The company offers its Starlink Mobile service as a $10-a-month add-on through T-Mobile US Inc., allowing text messages and internet-based calls from remote areas.

Charter declined to comment. SpaceX didn’t respond to a request for one. 

The Financial Times reported earlier on Friday that SpaceX told investors it plans to offer mobile service directly to consumers. To do so, it would need a large amount of mobile spectrum and ground-based infrastructure in addition to its satellite spectrum holdings. In a recent Federal Communications Commission auction, SpaceX successfully bid for mobile spectrum rights in the AWS-3 band, following its purchase of mobile spectrum rights from EchoStar Corp. last year.

“Starlink Mobile will far exceed Starlink broadband in the home,” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell recently said in an interview with CNBC. “Not everybody is going to need broadband, a Starlink broadband, in their homes. There’s lots of other options as well. But I think the numbers of users of Starlink Mobile will far exceed our Starlink broadband.”

Last year, Charter agreed to combine with Cox Communications, increasing Charter’s subscriber base by more than 20%. Through its Spectrum Mobile brand, Charter offers wireless phone service to its cable and home internet customers made possible through infrastructure-rental deals with T-Mobile and Verizon Communications Inc. Charter routes much of the traffic through its Wi-Fi networks. 

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com