Shares of major US mobile service providers plunged in Friday’s trading session after Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced an acquisition of low-band that could help its Starlink satellite service expand into a major mobile carrier in the US.
AT&T Inc. shares fell 11% to $21.96, while T-Mobile US Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. also declined 11% each on Wall Street.
SpaceX announced that the newly acquired spectrum would help it expand its satellite-to-cellular services and compete more directly with traditional wireless carriers. In a post on X on Thursday, Musk said the low-band spectrum was the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage across America.
The spectrum was acquired from investment firm Grain Management LLC. It will allow SpaceX to provide cellular connectivity that can penetrate walls and deliver service to devices indoors, according to a post on the company’s website. SpaceX also said the spectrum is supported by most mobile devices currently in use.
The financial terms of the agreement were not publicly disclosed by SpaceX or Grain Management. Grain had acquired the airwaves from T-Mobile earlier this year.
Once it receives approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), SpaceX plans to combine its satellite-to-cell services with a terrestrial network to connect devices across the country.
During SpaceX’s debut quarterly earnings announcement in August, President Gwynne Shotwell outlined the company’s plans to enter the mobile carrier business, saying that it definitely intended to build out the terrestrial component.
How will Starlink’s new spectrum help it challenge traditional mobile carriers?
SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile satellite-to-cellular service already has access to global 2 GHz mid-band spectrum, which provides high-bandwidth capacity. The newly acquired spectrum will help its signals travel through obstacles, Reuters reported.
Low-band frequencies can travel longer distances and penetrate dense structures, including walls and tree cover, addressing a key technical challenge faced by satellite-based mobile networks.
By combining nationwide low-band airwaves with the high-frequency capacity of its satellite network, SpaceX is positioning Starlink Mobile to reduce its reliance on conventional cell towers and challenge established wireless carriers on coverage and indoor connectivity.
The deal raises the stakes for traditional telecom operators, potentially transforming satellite direct-to-device connectivity from a supplementary service for remote areas with limited coverage into a more direct commercial competitor to terrestrial cellular networks.
Grain Management CEO David Grain said the deal had the potential to change where and how Americans connect. Most existing mobile handsets support the 800 MHz frequency band, potentially eliminating the need for consumers to purchase specialized satellite phones.
(With inputs from Reuters and Bloomberg)