❯ SpaceX buys nationwide 800 MHz low-band spectrum as Starlink Mobile aims to become a carrier, and the three big US carriers fall after hours

Filling the low-band gapSpaceX announced on October 8 an agreement to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum license portfolio. According to CNBC, the seller is Grain Management and the portfolio covers up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band, subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. SpaceX said it paves the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US.

Low-band signals get through wallsWireless spectrum comes in higher and lower bands. According to Finimize, citing Reuters, Starlink Mobile already holds global 2 GHz mid-band spectrum; low-band travels farther and penetrates walls better, and most unmodified phones already support 800 MHz. The FCC this week also approved SpaceX’s Gen2 constellation application covering 15,000 very-low-Earth-orbit satellites.

Going around the carriersAT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all fell in extended trading. CNBC noted the three formed a joint venture last week to expand coverage in underserved areas through satellite direct-to-device service, without Starlink. Starlink had 12 million subscribers as of June 30 and $4.29 billion in connectivity revenue in the second quarter. T-Mobile had already removed Starlink from its own satellite promotions, and SpaceX now intends to bypass carriers and serve users directly.

Cities still need towersTMF Associates analyst Tim Farrar cautioned that this is still a very limited amount of spectrum and that reliable building penetration in cities would require SpaceX to deploy towers on the ground. CNBC also said the added spectrum will combine satellite and ground coverage only once the company builds a tower network. Investment bank William Blair expects SpaceX to bundle Starlink home broadband with mobile service, and that is what carriers have to guard against now.

▮ SIGNALA satellite company buying terrestrial spectrum shows that for direct-to-phone service to go mainstream, it still has to come back to the traditional telecom resources of spectrum and base stations.