Oct 8 (Reuters) - SpaceX struck a deal on Thursday to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, positioning Elon Musk's satellite venture to mount a direct, orbital challenge to legacy wireless giants across the United States.
While Starlink Mobile's existing global 2 GHz mid-band spectrum will provide high-bandwidth capacity, the new spectrum will enable its signal to pass through obstacles. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Low-band frequencies are prized for their ability to travel longer distances and penetrate dense structures such as walls and tree cover, addressing a major technical hurdle previously faced by satellite-based mobile networks.
By pairing nationwide low-band airwaves with high-frequency space capacity, SpaceX is positioning Starlink Mobile to bypass conventional cell towers entirely and challenge the wireless oligopoly on both broad coverage and in-building reliability.
The deal also raises the stakes for legacy carriers, transforming satellite direct-to-device connectivity from a supplementary safety feature for remote dead zones into a full-scale commercial rival capable of unseating terrestrial cellular networks.
Shares of T-Mobile US, Verizon and AT&T fell nearly 7% in extended trading.
"The incumbent wireless carriers have been vocal in expressing skepticism that SpaceX's network will be able to match the quality of their networks," William Blair analysts said.
"We expect SpaceX to offer a very compelling Starlink broadband and Starlink Mobile bundle. The company may also include Grok in the package."
The transaction, which involves acquiring 100% of private-equity firm Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio, remains subject to regulatory approval by the Federal Communications Commission. Grain had acquired the airwaves from T-Mobile earlier this year.
Crucially, most existing, unmodified mobile handsets already support the 800 MHz frequency band, eliminating the need for consumers to purchase proprietary satellite phones.
The Federal Communications Commission also approved Starlink Mobile's Gen2 constellation application this week, authorizing SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites that are optimized for 2 GHz spectrum globally.
The new orbital fleet will operate in very low Earth orbit, delivering expanded bandwidth and low-latency connections to standard handsets.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
