SpaceX buys low-band spectrum to extend Starlink Mobile coverage
SpaceX has agreed to buy up to 14 MHz of nationwide 800 MHz spectrum from Grain Management, adding a terrestrial coverage layer to its planned Starlink Mobile network. The low-band frequencies can travel longer distances and penetrate buildings more effectively, potentially helping SpaceX provide mobile service indoors and compete with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
The licences cover areas containing about 100 per cent of the US population, though the amount of spectrum varies by county, from 4.85 to 14 MHz. The purchase would add to 65 MHz of mid-band spectrum SpaceX is buying from EchoStar in a deal valued at $17 billion, approved by the FCC in May 2026. SpaceX has asked the FCC to approve the Grain purchase; rural carriers have raised concerns about spectrum concentration, and shares in major US mobile operators and AST SpaceMobile fell after the deal was announced.
- SpaceX plans to add 800 MHz spectrum to Starlink Mobile.
- The low-band signal could improve coverage inside buildings.
- The deal needs FCC approval and may face rural-carrier opposition.
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Starlink is a satellite internet network operated by SpaceX. The company is developing Starlink Mobile, a mobile phone service that would combine satellite signals with ground infrastructure. To ensure mobile coverage works well, particularly indoors and in harder-to-reach areas, networks need radio spectrum – the invisible frequencies used to transmit signals.
Different radio frequencies have different characteristics. Low-band spectrum, such as 800 MHz frequencies, travels longer distances and penetrates buildings more effectively than higher frequencies. This makes it particularly valuable for reaching rural areas and maintaining indoor coverage, capabilities that established mobile operators have long depended upon.
SpaceX is aiming to compete with major US mobile carriers AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, which already control extensive spectrum and ground networks. To achieve this, the company is acquiring different types of spectrum to build a comprehensive network. The broadening of spectrum holdings among a small number of companies has prompted concerns from industry observers about market concentration.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters contend that SpaceX's investment in spectrum reflects genuine technological capabilities to extend mobile coverage to underserved areas, and that enabling this competition would benefit consumers through improved service and innovation. They argue that spectrum allocation should support companies with real plans and capabilities; regulatory oversight already exists to prevent genuine anticompetitive harms, and preventing successful companies from competing on the merits would undermine competition itself.
The case against
Critics contend that spectrum is a finite public resource whose allocation fundamentally shapes market competition and rural service provision. They warn that allowing SpaceX to accumulate dominant positions in both mid-band and low-band frequencies through major acquisitions threatens the spectrum diversity necessary for meaningful competition and risks undermining rural carriers' ability to serve underserved areas independently of SpaceX's priorities.
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Originally published by Ars Technica as “Starlink spectrum deal boosts Musk plan to beat AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon”.