SpaceX plan to acquire spectrum license hammers shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile

SpaceX has agreed to purchase a nationwide spectrum portfolio, expanding its presence in the US telecommunications market with its Starlink service. According to Investing.com, the acquisition is of an 800 MHz spectrum portfolio from Grain Management, which includes up to 14 megahertz of paired low-band frequencies.

The deal is expected to allow SpaceX to deploy a hybrid satellite-and-terrestrial network, positioning it as a competitor to legacy wireless providers. Following the announcement, shares of major US telecommunications companies took a hit, with AT&T plummeting 6.75%, T-Mobile US dropping 5.4%, and Verizon Communications falling 5%, as reported by Investing.com.

The acquisition addresses a technical gap for Starlink Mobile, enabling it to provide seamless, uninterrupted service indoors, outdoors, and in cellular dead zones. The 800 MHz band is supported by most existing, unmodified mobile devices. The deal is subject to final Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval.

Brief written by urgent.news from CNBC, CNBC World, Investing.com — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.