T-Mobile and Verizon press FCC to slow Starlink Mobile as SpaceX plans cell towers

SpaceX wants access to at least 80,000 US cell sites for Starlink Mobile and is in talks with at least one major infrastructure company to get there, while Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile lobby against it at the FCC.

Crown Castle, one of the largest tower owners alongside American Tower and Vertical Bridge, is among those in talks. Its CEO didn't confirm details but said the company is talking to all parties, including Amazon and other satellite providers. As a deal with SpaceX for terrestrial Starlink Mobile network deployment could be worth billions, Crown Castle's shares jumped as much as 10% after the report, and AT&T and T-Mobile each closed nearly 8% lower.

SpaceX had already said it would use its home internet gear like the Starlink Standard Кit available on Amazon to emit mobile signals around customers' installations, which fits its earlier femtocell pitch. The catch, according to analysts, is that those sites sit where subscribers live, not necessarily where a network needs coverage and cell tower leases would fill that gap.  

The FCC cleared 15,000 direct-to-phone satellites on October 6, and SpaceX agreed to buy 800 MHz low-band spectrum from Grain Management, valued at about $8 billion as low-band airwaves penetrate walls far better than satellite-friendly frequencies. At the SpaceX earnings call, Musk said the satellites and spectrum will make Starlink Mobile a "major mobile carrier."

T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon push against Starlink Mobile

If Starlink manages to pull this off, its 5G cell phone service will become the fourth carrier, a role that Dish was supposed to fill, but the plan collapsed in 2025 when EchoStar sold its spectrum to AT&T and SpaceX. The carriers' pushback is already at the FCC as the agency votes October 29 on updating its direct-to-cell rules, which would open another 482 MHz to satellites.

Carrier lobby group CTIA that counts Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T among its members wants satellites kept off the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands. It also argues for the right to approve and end spectrum leases and wants satellite operators held to the same consumer protection standards as carriers are. "Critically, the Commission should revise the Draft 1675 MHz FNPRM to clarify that the performance metrics deemed appropriate for terrestrial providers should apply to satellite operators as well," writes the CTIA. Its letter doesn't name SpaceX, but the target is pretty clear, and the big three have also launched their own satellite joint venture.

The skeptics have some arguments, too, as T-Mobile's CFO reportedly estimated it would take around a billion femtocells to match macro tower coverage outdoors, and those small cells struggle with walls and car glass. SpaceX has published no pricing or coverage map yet, and its CFO pushed the US launch to the first half of 2028 instead of 2027. If the SpaceX cell tower deals land and the femtocell deployment proceeds as planned, Americans may finally get a fourth carrier to shop around from, one that always offers outdoor coverage, no matter how remote.