SpaceX has announced the acquisition of low-band wireless spectrum, formally signaling its entry into the US mobile carrier market, a move that has pressured the shares of incumbent telecom giants and threatens to reshape the competitive landscape of the industry.

SpaceX said on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with investment firm Grain Management LLC to acquire a batch of nationwide 800MHz low-band spectrum licenses, and plans to integrate them with its Starlink satellite network to build a standalone mobile carrier business. In a statement on its website, SpaceX said the spectrum "fills in the last critical piece of the puzzle for Starlink Mobile to become a major US mobile carrier." Chief Executive Elon Musk described the move on the X platform as a "very major event."

Following the announcement, shares of major US telecom carriers fell sharply in after-hours trading. AT&T Inc dropped 7.3%, while T-Mobile US Inc and Verizon Communications Inc each fell about 6.6% to 7%. AST SpaceMobile Inc was also dragged down, declining more than 6%. SpaceX shares, meanwhile, rose about 1.5% to 3% after hours.

Details of the spectrum deal: 800MHz licenses purchased from Grain Management

SpaceX acquired a batch of nationwide low-band spectrum licenses from investment firm Grain Management LLC in the 800MHz band, which can penetrate walls, provide indoor signal coverage and is compatible with most mobile devices currently on the market.

The 800MHz licenses previously belonged to Grain Management, which obtained them after completing a spectrum swap with T-Mobile in August this year. According to the approval order issued by the US communications regulator (FCC) for that swap, Grain was required to publicly solicit bidders interested in developing the spectrum, with a deadline of November 5. The FCC noted in its approval order that the spectrum had long been underutilized.

According to an August report by Bloomberg, SpaceX was already one of the candidates interested in bidding for the spectrum at the time. Musk responded on the X platform at the time by calling it "not true," denying the report.

FCC authorizes a 15,000-satellite constellation for direct-to-phone service

Shortly before the spectrum acquisition news, the FCC had on October 7 authorized SpaceX to deploy a constellation of 15,000 satellites at an orbital altitude of 326 to 335 kilometers, capable of connecting directly to ordinary mobile phones without carrier involvement.

Previously, regulatory rules for satellite-to-phone service required satellite operators to lease spectrum from licensed carriers, with carriers effectively acting as "gatekeepers." The FCC waived that leasing requirement this time, writing in its authorization order that "requiring SpaceX to enter into a lease agreement with itself would constitute an unnecessary regulatory burden." The FCC also said the authorization was intended to promote "competition in the retail wireless services market for US consumers."

It is worth noting that the authorization came from an FCC bureau rather than a vote by the full commission, so it could still be subject to reconsideration. In addition, the FCC is scheduled to vote on October 29 on auctioning 25MHz of spectrum for direct-to-device service, with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr framing the goal as "using this cutting-edge technology to eliminate mobile signal dead zones."

Commercial rollout still years away, with no satellites yet in orbit

Although SpaceX has obtained licenses and secured spectrum, the commercialization of its satellite-to-phone service still faces a long timeline. Currently, the constellation has no satellites in orbit, and launches are expected to begin no earlier than the end of 2027. The spectrum acquired in this deal may not be used for commercial purposes until the transaction closes in a later stage (expected no later than November 30, 2027). Under FCC requirements, the constellation must complete half of its deployment by October 7, 2032, and be fully in place by October 7, 2035.

SpaceX claims the network "will provide each user with 5G speeds of up to 150Mbps," far exceeding the service levels of its existing direct-to-satellite offering. However, satellite beams must share capacity across large areas, and per-user speeds under real-world load have yet to be verified.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the spectrum acquired in the deal "includes a terrestrial component, and we do intend to build a ground network."

Telecom carriers and AST SpaceMobile: different near-term worries and long-term concerns

Facing SpaceX's advance, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile jointly established a satellite-to-phone joint venture on October 2, a move indicating the three major carriers had long anticipated the regulatory direction. However, the joint venture still relies on third parties to provide satellite resources, leaving a clear gap with SpaceX in terms of independence.

For AT&T and Verizon, long-term risk exposure is greater, but near-term pressure is relatively limited, because the networks underpinning their partnerships with AST SpaceMobile have also yet to be built. T-Mobile is currently a partner carrier for SpaceX's direct-to-satellite service, but will in the future become a direct competitor, and the FCC waiver has essentially weakened T-Mobile's bargaining leverage in that partnership.

AST SpaceMobile was hit the hardest, falling more than 6% at one point during the session. The core of the company's business model is its "carrier-friendly" positioning as a differentiator, and SpaceX's independent path, which requires no carrier cooperation, directly undermines that logic. Currently, AST SpaceMobile has only 13 satellites in orbit, a vast gap with SpaceX in scale and financial strength. It is understood that SpaceX currently holds about $93.52 billion in cash, and Starlink subscribers have grown to 12 million.