Can Elon Musk’s Starlink Mobile defy physics?

SpaceX made a splash with the big unveil of Starlink Mobile, triggering renewed speculation about what Elon Musk really plans to do to shake up the decades-old terrestrial wireless industry. Will he build his own hybrid satellite-terrestrial network to rule the world? Will he strike an MVNO deal with one or more existing mobile network operators to sell a Starlink Mobile-branded phone/broadband service to the masses? Or will he do something else entirely that no one on this planet could ever predict? Maybe none or all of the above. But given the number of times we’ve heard people warn that doomsday is coming for mobile operators because Musk is the Grim Reaper knocking on their door, we decided to ask some folks on the ground if it’s likely or even possible that satellites will replace terrestrial carriers. Or something like that.