SpaceX Buys 800 MHz Spectrum: Is Starlink Becoming a Phone Carrier?

According to Ars Technica, SpaceX agreed to buy up to 14 MHz of 800 MHz licenses from Grain Management, which bought them from T-Mobile earlier this year. The amount ranges from 4.85 to 14 MHz depending on the county, and the licenses cover about 100% of the US population per an FCC order. Terms were not disclosed. This comes on top of 65 MHz of nationwide mid-band spectrum SpaceX is buying from EchoStar in a $17 billion deal the FCC approved in May 2026.

Low-band signals travel farther and pass through walls better than mid-band. SpaceX said the new spectrum "will provide a coverage layer" so service works inside buildings, and that most existing phones already support the band. SpaceX's filing says it plans radios on towers, rooftops and other structures. These are SpaceX's statements about a plan, not a working network.

Earlier this week the FCC approved up to 15,000 next-generation Starlink Mobile satellites. See our explainer on that approval. SpaceX has launched 650 direct-to-cell satellites for its current service, which runs through T-Mobile, and says the V2 satellites will bring more than 100 times the bandwidth of the current generation. SpaceX has told Canada it expects next-generation service by late 2027 (Ars Technica). Treat all of these as company targets.

Ars reports the stocks of AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and AST SpaceMobile fell sharply on the news. The three big carriers finalized a joint venture last week to pool spectrum for satellite coverage of dead zones. The Rural Wireless Association has opposed spectrum deals involving SpaceX and EchoStar, and Ars says the Grain deal is likely to be approved but could face opposition from small carriers.

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• Ars Technica: Starlink spectrum deal boosts Musk plan to beat AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon (Oct. 9, 2026)
• Fierce Network: SpaceX's 800 MHz spectrum grab threatens Big 3 mobile carriers (Oct. 9, 2026)
• Light Reading: SpaceX eyes 'major mobile carrier' status via Grain spectrum deal (Oct. 9, 2026)