SpaceX eyes Boost Mobile to crack a $235B wireless market
What's the deal? SpaceX is in talks to buy Boost MobileDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → or lease its cellular network, part of Elon Musk's plan to build a fourth national wireless carrier in the US. The company has held talks in recent months with Boost's parent, EchoStar, with Musk meeting EchoStar chairman Charlie Ergen last month. Terms are undisclosed.
Why now? Musk approached Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile for access to their networks, but all three rebuffed him, wary of a new competitor. Boost — a discount carrier with about 7.7 million subscribers that leases capacity from AT&T and T-Mobile — offers a back door into the market.
What's the endgame? SpaceX wants to turn its more than 12,000 satellites into a revenue source, targeting $1 trillion in annual revenue as soon as 2027. On a recent earnings call, chief financial officer Bret Johnsen said the aim is to "become a major mobile carrier ... in the United States."
The push builds on an existing tie with EchoStar, which last year sold SpaceX a large block of spectrum for $17 billion and will take an equity stake in the company. This month, SpaceX agreed to buy $8 billion of wireless spectrum licences for areas satellites can't reach. "This is the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America," Musk said on X.
What could go wrong? Boost leases its network from AT&T and T-Mobile, and three people said such agreements typically can't transfer to a buyer without the carriers' consent. SpaceX's satellite signal also isn't strong enough to support indoor or urban coverage, where most phones cluster, according to satellite analyst Tim Farrar.
The US wireless market is worth about $235 billion, by MoffettNathansonDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s estimate. News of the talks lifted SpaceX shares about 1.7% and EchoStar more than 5%, while AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all fell roughly 2%.
The signal: The talks underscore how seriously the established carriers now take Musk's wireless ambitions — enough to form a joint venture in October to speed satellite-based direct-to-device services. A Boost deal would be a shortcut into their market, but it would not by itself prove SpaceX can compete with the incumbents.
Read more: morningstar.com, The Washington Post, investors.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
