space x announced Thursday an agreement to purchase a national spectrum portfolio to further penetrate its Starlink service into the U.S. communications market. shares of AT&T, verizon and T-Mobile It fell in extended trading.
The transaction includes the acquisition of a spectrum portfolio from digital infrastructure specialist Grain Management and is subject to Federal Communications Commission approval. SpaceX said in a statement that this is a “licensed portfolio of up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800MHz band.”
“This key low-band spectrum solves one of the remaining critical technology gaps, paving the way for Starlink Mobile to become the leading mobile carrier in the United States,” SpaceX said.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X that this is a “huge deal.”
Last week, T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon formed a joint venture “focused on expanding coverage in underserved areas” through satellite and direct-to-consumer services, but Starlink was notably absent. T-Mobile also previously removed references to Starlink from T-Satellite promotions.
SpaceX appears determined to take on the U.S. carriers and offer its own services without them.
“This adds fuel to the battle between SpaceX and the mobile carriers,” said Tim Farrar, an industry expert at TMF Associates. “But it’s still a very limited range of spectrum, and to achieve reliable building penetration in urban areas, SpaceX will need to deploy towers on the ground.”
The announcement came a day after the FCC announced it would vote on a proposal to auction 25 megahertz of “prime spectrum” to support satellite-to-smartphone direct-to-device (D2D) services. The FCC also announced that it will vote on October 29 for public comment on a proposal to make an additional 482 MHz frequency available for supplemental reception from space and modernize FCC rules for direct-to-consumer services on licensed frequencies.
Both proposals could benefit not only SpaceX but also Amazon, which is also working to build out services using its satellite network.
SpaceX, which went public in June in a record IPO and is now valued at more than $2 trillion, has so far relied on Starlink as its cash cow and its only profitable business unit.
In its rocket business, SpaceX has reduced its launch plans for next year. The company is currently looking to make its giant Starship rocket reliable and fully reusable, moving away from using smaller Falcon rockets. SpaceX is also building a cloud computing business and aims to someday build data centers in orbit. So far, the space and artificial intelligence sectors are suffering losses.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for further information, including when the new service would launch if it receives regulatory approval.
SpaceX shares rose about 2% in extended trading after falling 4% during regular market hours.
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