SpaceX deal to acquire spectrum license hammers shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile

A worker installs fencing at the SpaceX facility in Hawthorne on the day of the company's IPO, in Hawthorne, California, June 12, 2026. Mike Blake | ReutersSpaceX announced an agreement on Thursday to purchase a nationwide spectrum portfolio as it pushes its Starlink service deeper into the U.S. telecommunications market. Shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile tumbled in extended trading.The deal involves the acquisition of a spectrum portfolio from Grain Management, which specializes in digital infrastructure, and is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. SpaceX said in a statement that it's a "license portfolio of up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band.""This prime low-band spectrum addresses one of the key remaining technical gaps that will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US," SpaceX said. In a post on X, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called it a "very big deal."The announcement comes a day after the FCC said it would vote on a proposal to auction 25 megahertz of "prime spectrum" to support direct-to-device, or D2D, services from satellites to smart phones. The FCC also said it would vote Oct. 29 on taki...