SpaceX in talks to access 80,000 US cell sites in fourth-carrier push

SpaceX aims to secure access to at least 80,000 cell sites across the United States and is in talks with at least one major cellular infrastructure company to reach that goal, Bloomberg reports via the Straits Times.

The agreements would firm up the rocket and satellite company’s path towards becoming a fourth nationwide wireless carrier alongside AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The tower leases could be worth billions of dollars.

One of the companies SpaceX is in talks with is Crown Castle, which is among the largest tower owners alongside American Tower and Vertical Bridge. The 80,000 figure is about half of the 158,500 purpose-built cell towers operating in the US last year, according to the Wireless Infrastructure Association: Crown Castle runs about 40,000 US towers, American Tower about 42,000 sites and Vertical Bridge around 18,000.

Crown Castle has not confirmed anything. Asked on its October 21 earnings call about leases with SpaceX, chief executive Chris Hillabrant said the company was talking with “all parties” but declined to discuss specific customers. SpaceX has not commented and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, which noted that AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile shares fell between 4.2% and 5% in extended trading after the news.

The towers would be the ground half of a network SpaceX has been assembling all month. On October 8 it agreed to buy a nationwide portfolio of up to 14 MHz of paired 800 MHz low-band spectrum, a deal expected to close in the first half of 2027 pending regulatory approval, and a day earlier the FCC approved 15,000 next-generation direct-to-cell satellites for Starlink Mobile.

“We will be building out our terrestrial networks so there’s broad-based connectivity anywhere that SpaceX and Starlink are allowed to operate,” Elon Musk said during SpaceX’s earnings call this week, adding that satellite launches plus spectrum acquisition would pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become “a major mobile carrier” in the US.