SpaceX Eyes Massive Infrastructure Deal to Challenge US Wireless Giants

The proposed deal would grant SpaceX control over nearly half of the 158,500 operational cell towers in the country. During a recent earnings call, Crown Castle CEO Chris Hillabrant declined to confirm specific partnerships but acknowledged ongoing discussions with various satellite providers, noting that the company is engaging with all major interested parties.

This expansion strategy relies on blending satellite connectivity with traditional ground-based hardware. SpaceX has already secured significant regulatory and physical assets to support this transition, including the acquisition of low-band spectrum licenses and FCC approval to deploy 15,000 upgraded V2 Starlink Mobile satellites. These developments follow the company's $17 billion purchase of 2GHz spectrum from EchoStar last year, signaling a aggressive shift toward becoming a primary national carrier.