SpaceX Agrees to Buy Nationwide 800 MHz Spectrum from Grain Management to Launch Starlink as US Mobile Carrier

SpaceX has agreed to acquire Grain Management's nationwide portfolio of 800 MHz low-band spectrum licenses, a deal that would position Starlink as a direct competitor to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in the US mobile market. The licenses span 3,224 counties and cover nearly the entire country. The company said it intends to combine the low-band airwaves with its existing 2 GHz satellite spectrum to build a hybrid satellite and ground-based network, with the 800 MHz band specifically designed to improve indoor coverage and reach areas with weak or nonexistent cellular reception. Elon Musk described the acquisition as "the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America."

The spectrum deal landed the same week the FCC authorized SpaceX to deploy a constellation of 15,000 Starlink Gen2 satellites for direct-to-device mobile services, a separate but complementary step toward connecting phones directly from orbit. Financial terms of the Grain Management acquisition were not disclosed, though the 800 MHz portfolio was valued at roughly $6 billion in earlier reports. The transaction still requires FCC approval and other customary closing conditions.

Shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile fell on the news, reflecting the threat of a well-capitalized new entrant entering mobile services. The three carriers had only days earlier, on October 2, formed a joint satellite-to-phone venture, a move that now appears to have anticipated SpaceX's push. AST SpaceMobile, whose business model depends on carrier partnerships rather than owning spectrum, also dropped roughly 4 percent as SpaceX's vertically integrated approach poses a direct challenge to its position.