SpaceX Eyes 80,000 Cell Sites to Take On Verizon and AT&T

SpaceX is planning to gain access to at least 80,000 cell sites in the United States as part of an effort to compete directly with Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T. Sources say the company is in talks with Crown Castle, one of the country's largest cell tower owners.

Such a deal would give SpaceX access to roughly half of the 158,500 cell towers currently operating in the US, according to Reuters figures. The plan is to pair a terrestrial tower network with the company's constellation of direct-to-cell satellites.

Crown Castle stays noncommittal

Asked on an earnings call on Wednesday about a possible partnership with SpaceX, Amazon or other satellite services, Crown Castle CEO Chris Hillabrant declined to discuss specific customers. "You can assume that we're talking to all parties," he said.

A string of recent moves

The talks follow several steps SpaceX took earlier this month. It acquired a portfolio of low-band spectrum licenses and received FCC approval to deploy 15,000 upgraded V2 Starlink Mobile satellites. The company says these moves will "pave the way" for Starlink Mobile to become a "major" carrier in the US.

Last year, SpaceX also bought 2GHz spectrum from EchoStar for $17 billion, adding to the airwaves it can use for mobile service.

Why it matters

Satellite-only coverage has typically served as a backup for areas without cell service. Combining towers, spectrum and satellites would let SpaceX offer something closer to a conventional nationwide carrier, putting pressure on the three established players in the market.

No agreement has been announced, and the details of any tower arrangement, including pricing and timing, have not been disclosed. Crown Castle's comments suggest it is open to working with multiple satellite and wireless players, so the outcome of the talks remains unclear.