Elon Musk Says Starlink Cannot Outperform Cell Towers In Cces Due To ‘Simple Physics’

Starlink’s Limits in Urban Areas

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has clarified that Starlink , his global satellite-based internet service , cannot compete with traditional tower-based networks in densely populated cities. Speaking in an interview with Nikhil Kamath, Co-founder of Zerodha, Musk explained that the limitation comes down to basic physics and the distance between satellites and users.

“We can’t beat something that’s 1 kilometre away, which is the cell tower,” Musk said, adding that “the physics don’t allow for that.” Starlink satellites orbit Earth at around 550 km in low Earth orbit and can only descend to about 350 km. This makes it impossible to match the efficiency of cellular towers located just a kilometer away in crowded urban environments.

Why Starlink Struggles in Cities

Musk compared the satellite beam to a flashlight with a wide cone of light. Each satellite beam covers a large geographical area and can serve only a fixed number of users. High demand in cities , especially those filled with high-rise buildings , overwhelms this capacity.

For this reason, Musk said it is “not physically possible for Starlink to serve densely populated cities,” although it could still serve about 1–2% of users in small pockets where fibre connectivity is missing.

Global Strengths and Advantages of Starlink

Despite its limitations in cities, Musk highlighted Starlink’s advantages worldwide. Operated by SpaceX, Starlink currently functions in 150 countries and includes several thousand satellites moving nearly 25 times the speed of sound.

Because they operate in low Earth orbit, Starlink satellites offer significantly lower latency compared to traditional geostationary satellites stationed at 36,000 km. The satellites are interconnected using laser links, forming a “laser mesh” that maintains connectivity even when ground fibre cables fail.

Musk cited the example of the Red Sea cable outage: “Starlink continued to function without a hitch,” he said.

Critical During Disasters

Musk emphasised Starlink’s value during natural disasters such as floods, fires, or earthquakes , situations where ground internet infrastructure is damaged. In such emergencies, Starlink provides services for free.

“We don’t want to put a paywall up while somebody’s trying to get help,” Musk said.

Complementing Telecom Networks, Not Replacing Them

Musk reiterated that Starlink is meant to complement existing telecom companies, not replace them. It works best in rural, remote, and underserved regions where laying fibre cables or building high-capacity towers is difficult and costly. In these areas, Starlink can bring reliable access to people who currently have little or no internet connectivity.

(With Inputs From ANI)

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