I think Musk has the upper hand. Legacy Tower based comms are like landlocked property. They've reached their customer base limit unless they stick towers in the middle of desert or mountain areas... ain't happening - not profitable.
There are many towers on Mountains? I don't know about deserts though. It depends on what problem you trying to solve. I don't live in a area or visit areas where there is a lot of rhetoric about no cell access. I know it is NOT everywhere but I feel that it may 90% of country where people may normally go. That may or may not be 90% of all land in US. But your point is dead on, I don't know that cellular will gain any significant additional profits by putting cellular in what I will call extreme remote areas, but with that said, they are adding new towers evet day.
So... they've chosen attempting to "partner" with the new kid on the block. How this plays out is anyone's guess.
My fear, and my worry to create the thread.
Being retired opens up a completely different mindset for RV travel, not fully realized until you actually retire. Instead of a "vacation" mindset, it's more of an extended trip mindset... travel at will with no time constraints. Every day is Saturday.
Funny thing, I don't we would classify any of our RV trips as vacation? We are certainly not retired. A vacation for us will be when we fly somewhere or leave the country.
Eventually you start reaching areas like the desert southwest - low population areas with no cell service at all. Cell maps of the West are misleading... there's holes everywhere. You can either play musical chairs chasing cell towers, or use Starlink and go anywhere.
Trying to recall our trip to Grand Canyon, Utah and Colorado. We didn't even carry our laptops and I don't recall the phone being an issue but I am sure at certain points in time we had no service.
As far as a merger between cell providers and Starlink, I think consumers have the best of both worlds NOW. Cheap cellular where it's available, and "pausable" Starlink... activate it only when needed. Yes Starlink equipment isn't cheap, but they got a sweet spot with the plans... $50 is dirt cheap for anywhere Internet on a temporary basis.
if they allow you to pay if you need it will be a good thing. That is my hope, but somehow I am expecting to get the shaft.
As I said before if they merged, it's guaranteed plans will increase in price... cell providers must pay the piper (Elon). The problem is profits are dependent on constant growth. Nothing is static. I remember Warner Qube doing testing in Columbus Ohio in the early 1980s. Interactive Internet for something like $13 a month (I don't remember exactly) but it was CHEAP. Those days are long gone.
A merger may benefit some, but it sucks paying for something you rarely use. Again... we'll see how it shakes out.