Major telecom stocks puked after hours after Elon Musk's SpaceX announced it would acquire a portfolio of up to 14 MHz of paired low-band spectrum in the 800 MHz band, positioning Starlink to become a major mobile carrier in the US.
We announced an agreement to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum license portfolio that will pave the way for @Starlink to become a major mobile carrier in the US. With this new spectrum and our Gen2 constellation, Starlink Mobile can ensure Americans have access to high-speed mobile broadband no matter where they are → https://t.co/1Uaf48v5pm
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 8, 2026
Musk wrote on X that the low-band spectrum represents "the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America."
This is the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2026
"While Starlink Mobile's global 2 GHz mid-band spectrum will provide high-bandwidth capacity in the United States, this new low-band spectrum will provide a coverage layer that ensures Starlink Mobile's signal penetrates through obstacles, such as walls, and can provide service to customers' devices even when they are in buildings. Critically, most existing mobile devices already support this underused band," SpaceX noted.
Subject to Federal Communications Commission approval, SpaceX plan
