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FollowingAfter-hours trading on Thursday: Three major telecom stocks plunged, SpaceX's $8 billion spectrum acquisition triggered market turmoil.
In after-hours trading on Thursday, AT&T shares fell about 7.5%, Verizon fell 7%, and T-Mobile fell 6.7%. Those declines erased billions of dollars in the combined market value as investors reassess the industry's competitive prospects.
Grain Management announced an agreement covering its national 800 MHz spectrum portfolio. SpaceX aims to combine satellite connectivity with terrestrial wireless infrastructure, which could allow Starlink to compete directly with traditional mobile operators.
Why SpaceX's $8 billion deal scares telecom investors
The acquisition gives SpaceX access to as much as 14 MHz of paired low-frequency spectrum. Low-band spectrum is extremely valuable because it travels farther and penetrates buildings more effectively than high-frequency signals. This advantage directly hits the main limitation of satellite-based mobile coverage: the difficulty of maintaining reliable connections indoors and densely populated areas.
SpaceX plans to combine these spectrum with its next-generation satellites and ground infrastructure to provide more comprehensive mobile services.
The impact of competition is not limited to network coverage. Starlink has currently partnered with T-Mobile to extend connectivity to remote areas, but SpaceX is increasingly positioning itself as a potential competitor rather than just an infrastructure partner. At the same time, AT&T is developing its own satellite strategy through a partnership with Amazon Leo, highlighting how traditional operators are preparing for satellite competition.
Telecom stocks fell, but Tower Company bucked the trend and rose
Market reaction reveals an important divergence phenomenon. While wireless carrier shares fell, infrastructure companies including American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications rose about 5% to 6% in pre-market trading.
Investors seem to believe that SpaceX could eventually become another major customer of ground communications infrastructure, creating new leasing opportunities. This makes the competitive threat more complex than simply replacing cellular base stations with satellites.
SpaceX's wireless ambitions don't stop there.
The latest acquisition follows SpaceX's previous US$17 billion spectrum deal with EchoStar, demonstrating the scale of its investment in mobile connectivity. These ambitions are also accompanied by SpaceX's broader expansion spending, which is raising funds in multiple infrastructure business areas.
