Starlink Goes Mobile. Carriers Crash.

Late Thursday, Oct 8, SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide block of 800 MHz low-band airwaves from Grain Management. That’s the kind of spectrum that travels far and gets inside buildings. SpaceX said it will pave the way for Starlink Mobile “to become a major mobile carrier in the US.” Musk called it “the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America.” The deal still needs FCC approval.

Friday, Wall Street treated Starlink like a real fourth phone company. T-Mobile closed down about 13.3%, AT&T about 10.8% and Verizon about 10.1% (Yahoo Finance daily closes; CNBC reported -13.27%, -9.81% and -8.75%). It was Verizon’s worst day since 2002.

Who said what after the selloff:

• Verizon: “A company can have billions of dollars of spectrum, but if they do not have the network to use it, it’s just empty airwaves.”
• T-Mobile (John Saw, president of technology): “You can acquire spectrum in a single transaction. You cannot acquire a nationwide, high-performing wireless network overnight.”
• AT&T: no comment Friday. CEO John Stankey had already called SpaceX’s cell plan “not a viable strategy.”
• SpaceX: the airwaves address “one of the key remaining technical gaps” for Starlink Mobile.
• FCC Chair Brendan Carr: more competition is “really good news for the American consumers.”

None of the carriers named a reason for the drop. They just pushed back on the threat. The market didn’t buy it.

Sources: CNBC, NBC News, CBS News, CNBC (Oct 8), Times of India / Axios. Prices: Yahoo Finance.