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Musk Says SpaceX Could Buy a Legacy Telco and Use Its Spectrum 10 Times Better
Yahoo Finance • • business
Key Points:
- Elon Musk stated that SpaceX could potentially buy a legacy telecom carrier to use its spectrum "ten times more effectively," though no specific target or formal filings have been announced.
- Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges estimated that SpaceX would need at least $220 billion to rival established US carriers, citing SpaceX's current 76 MHz of spectrum versus T-Mobile's 400 MHz.
- Acquiring a legacy carrier would involve taking on significant debt—$166 billion from Verizon or $160 billion from AT&T—and require approvals from antitrust regulators and the FCC.
- SpaceX currently owns AWS-4 and H-block licenses purchased from EchoStar for about $17 billion and is set to close on nationwide 800 MHz licenses in early 2027, with unconfirmed talks regarding Boost Mobile.
- Market reactions were mixed: SpaceX shares rose 8.62% following Musk's comments, while T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T stocks saw minor declines; investors await further developments around the 800 MHz license closing.
