Bloomberg reports that SpaceX is in talks to use at least 80,000 cell sites in the United States. The sites would support a possible fourth nationwide carrier built on spectrum SpaceX has bought. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile shares fell 4 percent to 5 percent after hours.
Talks are not a network
Access to towers is a negotiation, not a phone you can buy. Bloomberg’s figure is “at least 80,000” sites under discussion.
The after-hours drop in the three big carriers’ shares is a market reaction to the report. It is not a regulatory approval.
A reader who uses one of those three carriers and is trying to tell a spectrum plan from a service that already has coverage.