SpaceX Partners with Qualcomm for Starlink Mobile; UK Braces for AI-Accelerated Cyberattacks; Nokia Predicts AI-Driven Network Traffic Surge

Image: Amiya Johar · Source

SpaceX will deploy Qualcomm's infrastructure tech in a nationwide US mobile network by 2027. UK authorities warn of rising AI-powered cyber threats from state actors. Nokia forecasts AI to generate nearly half of global network traffic by 2035, reshaping network demands.

SpaceX and Qualcomm have forged a significant partnership to develop Starlink Mobile, a new nationwide mobile network in the United States scheduled for launch in 2027. Under this multi-year agreement, SpaceX will use Qualcomm’s Dragonwing Cellular Infrastructure technology, including Massive MIMO radio units, radio equipment, baseband units, and software, to enable a large-scale rollout of cellular base stations. Qualcomm highlighted that these advanced antenna capabilities will enhance the terrestrial network's coverage, capacity, and spectral efficiency. Durga Malladi, Qualcomm’s EVP and GM of Technology Planning, Edge Solutions and Data Centre, indicated that the expected installation scale rivals major mobile operators, emphasizing SpaceX’s serious commitment. Analyst Luke Pearce pointed out that complementing satellite direct-to-device services with a traditional terrestrial network is essential and noted the ambitious scale of deploying tens of thousands of sites, acquiring additional spectrum, and expanding the satellite constellation dependent on the success of Starship rockets. The partnership might also influence broader open RAN and 6G adoption and potentially scale internationally or be adopted by other satellite providers.

Meanwhile, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued a warning about an impending increase in cyberattacks driven by AI-enhanced capabilities from state actors such as Russia and China in the next two years. The NCSC’s 2026 annual review highlights how advances in AI, automation, and computing power are accelerating and improving cyber operations, enabling faster exploitation of vulnerabilities. It predicts that by 2028, state actors will routinely use AI in their cyber campaigns to pursue geopolitical goals, and that AI-powered malware could target critical UK infrastructure with ransomware attacks before 2028. Recent cyberattacks affecting European food supply refrigeration controls serve as early signs. NCSC’s chief Richard Horne stressed that outdated systems and inadequate monitoring have left organizations vulnerable, warning that AI could amplify threat actors’ effectiveness but also offers defensive potential.

In a related development, Nokia released its Global Network Traffic Report, forecasting that AI-generated traffic will constitute approximately 44% of global network traffic by 2035. This surge is driven by autonomous agents, robots, connected vehicles, and other physical AI applications requiring higher capacity and faster network connections. The report predicts that monthly network traffic will nearly quadruple compared to current levels, with physical AI traffic growing 105-fold and agentic AI traffic 160-fold over this period. The shift challenges traditional network design assumptions whereby users primarily consume more data than they generate. Nokia’s Derek Urbaniak emphasized that AI changes the traffic profile significantly, increasing uplink demand and necessitating fundamental reevaluations of radio access network capacity, architecture, hardware, and silicon design to accommodate AI-native traffic effectively. Edge and metro core networks are expected to handle 36% of this AI-driven traffic by 2035.

Collectively, these reports underscore the transformative impact of AI and advanced technologies on telecommunications infrastructure, network security landscapes, and data traffic patterns globally in the coming decade.