SpaceX Acquires 800 MHz Spectrum as FCC OKs 15,000 Starlink Sats

SpaceX Acquires 800 MHz Spectrum as FCC OKs 15,000 Starlink Sats

SpaceX announced in an update on its website that it has agreed to acquire a nationwide portfolio of up to 14 MHz of paired low-band spectrum in the 800 MHz range, a move it says will “pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the U.S.” The licenses are being purchased from Grain Management, which obtained the 800 MHz portfolio from T-Mobile in August. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Why Low-Band Spectrum Matters for Starlink Mobile

To date, Starlink has provided satellite connectivity to smartphones through existing carriers such as T-Mobile. With Starlink Mobile, SpaceX intends to operate as a carrier itself, delivering service directly to phones across the U.S., and later globally.

Starlink Mobile already holds global 2 GHz mid-band spectrum for higher-capacity links through agreements with EchoStar. The newly added 800 MHz spectrum supplies a coverage layer with better building penetration so devices remain connected indoors; as SpaceX notes, “most existing mobile devices already support this underused band.”

Following final FCC approval of the spectrum deal, SpaceX plans to integrate its satellite-to-mobile constellation with an advanced ground network. According to the company, this would make Starlink Mobile the first operator to deploy both satellite and terrestrial spectrum, covering indoor, outdoor, and traditional cellular dead zones within a single network.

FCC Approves 15,000 Next-Gen Satellites

The FCC has approved Starlink Mobile’s Gen 2 constellation, authorizing SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites optimized for 2 GHz spectrum worldwide. SpaceX says the second-generation satellites will provide more than 100 times the bandwidth of the current hardware, enabling high-speed service to unmodified phones anywhere. The FCC also granted a conditional U.S. waiver of satellite power limits and approved the backhaul bands used by Starlink’s V3 broadband satellites.

A New Rival for Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile

After the announcement, shares of T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T each fell more than 5% in extended trading.

Starlink was SpaceX’s largest revenue source when it went public earlier this summer, and its profitability has only grown since. A carrier business could add another revenue stream. The spectrum transaction still requires FCC approval, but SpaceX now has the satellites, spectrum, and regulatory momentum to begin building Starlink Mobile into an alternative to the three largest U.S. carriers.