Starlink to Build Mobile Phone Network
October 9th, 2026Via: Basenor:
SpaceX has struck a deal to acquire a nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio, a move Elon Musk is calling the ‘last critical piece’ needed for Starlink Mobile to provide complete phone coverage across America. The announcement, made public on October 8, 2026, sent shares of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile tumbling roughly 7% in after-hours trading as investors absorbed the implications of a satellite-native carrier entering the U.S. mobile market with the frequencies required to punch signals through building walls.
The deal pairs with the FCC’s approval just two days earlier of Starlink’s Gen2 constellation, authorizing up to 15,000 next-generation satellites. Together, the two developments transform Starlink Mobile from a text-only emergency backup into a credible competitive threat to the entrenched U.S. carrier trio.
