SpaceX acquires nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio to launch Starlink Mobile as a major U.S. carrier, sending incumbent shares lower

SpaceX announced an agreement to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, declaring that Starlink Mobile will become a major mobile carrier in the U.S. Shares of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile tumbled in extended trading on the news.

The deal involves up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band, acquired from Grain Management, a firm that specializes in digital infrastructure. The transaction is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. SpaceX said the low-band spectrum is intended to improve signal penetration through walls and buildings, addressing a key technical gap as it plans to combine satellite and terrestrial network coverage under a single architecture. The move positions the company to directly compete with the carriers that have long dominated the American wireless market.

SpaceX says Starlink Mobile can now become the first network operator to deploy both satellite and terrestrial spectrum. The company previously acquired 2GHz spectrum from EchoStar as part of its direct-to-device efforts. The FCC has also approved plans to deploy 15,000 V2 Starlink Mobile satellites that will offer more than 100 times the bandwidth of the current generation.

Market reaction and competitive backdrop

SpaceX shares rose about 2.5% in extended trading, recovering from a 4% decline during regular market hours. Elon Musk called the deal a “very big deal” in a post on X. The announcement landed just days after T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon formed a joint venture focused on expanding coverage in underserved areas via satellite and direct-to-device services, with Starlink notably absent. T-Mobile has previously removed mention of Starlink from its T-Satellite promotions. “This adds fuel to the fire in the battle between SpaceX and the mobile operators,” said Tim Farrar of TMF Associates.

Farrar cautioned that the spectrum is a limited amount and that SpaceX would need to deploy ground towers for reliable urban building penetration.

Regulatory landscape

A day before the announcement, the FCC said it would vote on a proposal to auction 25 megahertz of prime spectrum to support direct-to-device services from satellites to smartphones. The agency also said it would vote Oct. 29 on taking public comment on a proposal to make an additional 482 MHz of spectrum available for supplemental coverage from space. Those proposals could benefit SpaceX as well as Amazon, which has also moved to build a satellite network service.

Starlink’s scale and financials

Starlink is the largest global satellite communications network, with over 11,000 satellites in orbit and service available in 205 countries. The business had 12 million subscribers as of June 30, according to SpaceX’s second-quarter report, when its connectivity unit generated $1.66 billion in operating income on $4.29 billion in revenue. Deutsche Bank analysts, who recommend buying SpaceX stock, estimated this week that the global subscriber base reached 13.5 million at the end of September, including 4.1 million in the U.S. Starlink is SpaceX’s only profitable business segment to date. The company went public in June in a record IPO and is now valued at over $2 trillion.

SpaceX has reduced its planned cadence of launches for next year and is working to make Starship rockets reliable and fully reusable. The company is also building a cloud computing business and aims to someday build orbital data centers, though its space and AI units are losing money. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for further information, including when new services may come online.