CNBC reports SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio as it pushes Starlink deeper into U.S. telecommunications.
SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio as it pushes Starlink deeper into the U.S. telecommunications market, CNBC reports. CNBC says the deal hit shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.
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SpaceX has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio, giving its Starlink business a new route into U.S. mobile service. Grain announced the agreement on Oct. 8, saying the licenses would support direct-to-device connections from both space and the ground.
The transaction has not closed. It remains subject to Federal Communications Commission approval and other customary closing conditions, and its financial terms were not disclosed. Grain acquired the portfolio from T-Mobile in August.
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The 800 MHz licenses matter because lower-frequency signals travel farther and pass through walls and tree cover more effectively than higher-frequency signals. Reuters described that obstacle penetration as a major technical hurdle for satellite-based mobile networks.
Reuters also reported that most existing, unmodified phones already support the 800 MHz band. SpaceX could pair that coverage with Starlink Mobile's global 2 GHz spectrum, which is intended to provide more capacity. The planned combination is a step toward a service that works across satellite and terrestrial networks, but it is not evidence that a nationwide consumer mobile network is available today.
The FCC separately approved Starlink Mobile's second-generation constellation application this week, according to Reuters, authorizing SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites optimized for 2 GHz spectrum globally. That approval is distinct from the still-pending transfer of Grain's licenses.
T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T each fell more than 6.5% in extended trading after the announcement, Reuters reported. The declines followed news of the agreement, but the transaction still requires regulatory approval and does not represent a finished mobile network.
SpaceX must still execute on the service it has described. The agreement would add nationwide low-band licenses suited to broader reach and indoor coverage to its 2 GHz holdings, which Reuters said are intended to provide high-bandwidth capacity.
If regulators approve the transfer, the 800 MHz portfolio would expand the airwaves available to Starlink Mobile for connecting ordinary phones without proprietary satellite handsets. Until then, the deal is a plan for a broader hybrid network, not a completed service launch.
@CNBCSpaceX deal to acquire spectrum license hammers shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/spacex-spectrum-license-att-verizon-tmobile.html?taid=6ac803d38ff35e0001f90dbb&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter@CNBCSpaceX deal to acquire spectrum license hammers shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/spacex-spectrum-license-att-verizon-tmobile.html?taid=6ac803d38ff35e0001f90dbb&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter@CNBCSpaceX deal to acquire spectrum license hammers shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/spacex-spectrum-license-att-verizon-tmobile.html?taid=6ac803d38ff35e0001f90dbb&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter@CNBCSpaceX deal to acquire spectrum license hammers shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/spacex-spectrum-license-att-verizon-tmobile.html?taid=6ac803d38ff35e0001f90dbb&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
