SpaceX is reportedly in talks with tower companies to secure access to at least 80,000 US sites, as it presses ahead with plans to build a nationwide mobile network to rival incumbents AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile US.

According to Bloomberg, major US tower operator Crown Castle is among the companies discussing leases with SpaceX, with potential deals worth billions of dollars.

On an earnings call earlier this week, Crown Castle CEO Chris Hillabrant said the company was holding talks across the satellite telecommunications sector but declined to discuss specific customers, noting: “You can assume that we’re talking to all parties.”

The tower agreements would form a key part of SpaceX’s plan to combine satellite connectivity with ground-based infrastructure to establish a nationwide mobile network.

It is targeting early 2028 for a launch for its own direct-to-device (D2D) service, following the deployment of its second generation Starlink Mobile constellation expected next year.

Earlier this month, the company agreed to acquire up to 14MHz of paired spectrum in the 800MHz band from Grain Management, in a move chief Elon Musk said was “the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America”.

It also secured Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to launch 15,000 next-generation satellites for D2D services.

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said on the company’s Q3 earnings call the spectrum deal and satellite approval “pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US”.

Rivals
SpaceX’s approach has drawn scepticism from some parties over whether it can match the coverage and performance of established networks.

AT&T CEO John Stankey argued earlier this week building a network capable of matching incumbent performance would take time. “I think it takes a lot of years and a huge level of investment to get to the kind of performance levels that customers have become accustomed to in scaled networks,” he said.

Stankey also highlighted AT&T’s extensive low-band spectrum holdings and existing infrastructure, arguing the operator already serves customers across established coverage areas.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan told the Financial Times in August that the threat from satellite providers had been exaggerated, questioning what consumer problems a new service would solve.

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