T-Mobile fell 5% and AT&T fell 4% after Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was negotiating access to 80,000 U.S. cell sites to build a fourth national carrier.
SpaceX is combining 13.6 million Starlink subscribers and newly acquired 800 MHz spectrum with potential tower leases to build a comprehensive national wireless network.
Verizon CEO Dan Schulman says physics blocks satellites in dense urban markets, but access to towers gives SpaceX the footprint to directly challenge that argument.
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A report that EspaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) wants access to 80,000 U.S. cell sites to reach all major national wireless carriers simultaneously. Actions of T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) fell 5% to $150.74 during the morning session, a sign of how the SpaceX threat is directly looming over its wireless business.
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In the meantime, AT&T (NYSE:T) is down 4% to $21.79, a more modest decline that still tracks T-Mobile’s decline. VerizonCommunications (NYSE: VZ) is trading at $43.70, down 3%, the most resilient of the domestic carriers.
The losses of the carriers weigh on the sector fund which holds each of them. THE Communications Services SPDR Select Sector ETF (NYSEARCA: XLC) is down 1% at $105.94; for a broader market context, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is down 0.5% at $759.90.
Bloomberg report puts fourth carrier in play
Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that SpaceX is in talks with at least one major cell tower owner to secure access to a vast network of U.S. cell sites. Such a deal would bring SpaceX closer to creating a fourth nationwide wireless carrier to take on AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in their home market. Starlink already serves more than 13.6 million consumer subscribers worldwide, giving SpaceX an existing customer base to build on.
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SpaceX laid the groundwork earlier this month by agreeing to acquire 800 MHz spectrum licenses nationwide to advance its Starlink Mobile strategy. When that deal was struck, shares of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon found themselves among the top decliners in the S&P 500. The tower negotiations would fill a distinct gap, pairing that spectrum with the ground infrastructure a land carrier needs.
(we explained why the tower owners win, regardless of which carrier wins this fight, in a free report: SpaceX comes in for the phone companies, but the tower owners win either way)
Why AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are joining forces
The national networks of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile operate on leased towers, and each carrier generates recurring revenue from phone plans. Starlink offers connectivity from orbiting satellites, so access to the towers would give SpaceX the footprint that the space service lacks on its own. Adding towers to satellites and spectrum points to a fourth national competitor is why the three stocks are moving as a unit.
A new national rival would go after the same subscribers already served by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. This pressure on pricing and churn constitutes the bear case. Scale is the anchor of the bull case, as AT&T leverages its low-band spectrum on indoor building systems in high-rises, hospitals and stadiums as well as macro sites, a reach that a newcomer would need several years to replicate.
AT&T CEO John Stankey downplayed the spectrum threat, saying, “I wouldn’t over-rotate on what I would call a low-band spectrum carrier.” Verizon CEO Dan Schulman argued that satellites face severe limitations in dense markets, saying: “It is fundamentally not possible, because of physics, not because of execution, but because of physics, for satellites to compete effectively with the terrestrial network, whether in terms of mobility or broadband in urban and suburban areas.” » Access to the tower is exactly the element that would help SpaceX get around this physical constraint.
T-Mobile’s position is different, since the company already has a direct partnership with Starlink. Chief executive Srini Gopalan described direct-to-cell as “a technology that, in many ways, we worked with Starlink to invent,” and he also called it a “complementary category.” These existing ties did not spare T-Mobile stock from the biggest decline in the industry.
Signed tower leases would raise stakes for carriers
The next test for AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile is whether SpaceX will turn negotiations into signed tower leases. A final deal would give SpaceX a ground network to pair with its satellites and spectrum, strengthening its position as the fourth carrier. It is worth observing whether the Select Communications Services Sector SPDR ETF continues to lag the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust while traders digest the report.
SpaceX expects its spectrum purchase to be finalized in the first half of 2027, giving AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile a defined window before that piece is in place. Position sizes are expected to remain modest until the outcome of the SpaceX tower negotiations is resolved.
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