Elon Musk’s SpaceX Gets Green Light from Trump's FCC for 15,000 Starlink Satellites: Here’s What Comes Next

Elon Musk-led Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) secured approval from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy and operate satellites for a new Starlink direct-to-device constellation, advancing SpaceX’s push into mobile connectivity. SpaceX Will Not Be Required to Enter Agreements On Tuesday, the FCC granted SpaceX approval to deploy 15,000 Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellites to provide Mobile Satellite Services, as well as Direct-to-Cell technology outside of the United States. Read Also: Elon Musk Defends $1 Trillion Fortune Tied to SPCX, TSLA, Slams Bernie Sanders: ‘Takers’ Take From the Makers The order also says that SpaceX will not be required to enter into leasing agreements with ground-based service providers to offer its satellite connectivity. “SpaceX’s planned deployments will reshape spectrum-based connectivity by improving competition, allowing more consumers more choices,” the FCC said in the order, adding that the move would “further the Commission’s goal to ‘connect everyone, everywhere to modern communications services.'” Earlier this month, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) CEO John Stankey expressed skepticism about SpaceX’s strategy to use satellites, as well as femtocells, which are small-scale cellular base stations that offer improved connectivity. He backed a fiber-based approach instead. Musk Touts Solar System-Level Starlink The FCC nod comes as Musk, on Tuesday, backed Starlink to be able to provide connectivity throughout the solar system, reaffirming SpaceX’s VP of Starlink, Michael Nicolls‘ comments about offering Starlink connectivity on the lunar surface as well as Mars. Musk, on Wednesday, also announced his goal of being able to reach a petawatt of power annually. Notably, 1 Petawatt equals 1,000 Terawatts and 1 million Gigawatts. According to a NASA estimate from 2015, an average of approximately 342 watts of solar power reaches each square meter of Earth’s surface over the course of a year, equivalent to roughly 44 petawatts of total incoming solar power. Jim Cramer Backs SpaceX TV Host Jim Cramer, on Wednesday, backed SpaceX as investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) upgraded the stock’s price target to $230. Cramer said that SpaceX’s compute renting agreements were particularly profitable for the company. Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analyst Adam Jonas had also backed SpaceX, issuing a $300 price target for the company’s stock and saying that SpaceX could look “unusually cheap” to investors once factors like power bottlenecks were calculated into its valuation. Price Action: SPCX shares were down 0.18% to $167.30 during premarket trading on Thursday. Read Also: T-Mobile's CEO Just Dismantled SpaceX's Starlink Mobile Ambitions as Musk's Firm Pours Billions Into Buying Spectrum: 'What's Their Differentiation?' Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock