FCC votes to end AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile's spectrum veto over Starlink Mobile

The Federal Communications Commission voted on October 29 to advance a rulemaking that would open 482 MHz of licensed carrier airwaves to satellite-to-phone service↗, raising the number of eligible Supplemental Coverage from Space bands from five to 13, and moved a companion plan to auction 25 MHz↗ ¹⁷. No spectrum changed hands: the adopted text is not public, and comments are due 60 days after Federal Register publication ¹.

The rule change ends the carriers' leasing veto

The item that matters is structural. Today a satellite operator must lease spectrum from every carrier holding co-channel licenses across an entire region; the draft replaces that with certification of coexistence agreements covering only the areas it serves, or ownership of the terrestrial licenses ¹. As drafted, the vote handed SpaceX▼−5.22% — SpaceX, down 5.22 percent today no spectrum; it revoked the carriers' veto. That veto carried a price: SpaceX spent 2026 buying licenses rather than renting them, roughly $17 billion for EchoStar's▼−1.77% — EchoStar, down 1.77 percent today AWS▼−1.89% — AWS, down 1.89 percent today-4 and H-block alone ¹.

The carriers want 290 MHz carved out

AT&T▲+2.32% — AT&T, up 2.32 percent today, Verizon▲+3.13% — Verizon, up 3.13 percent today and T-Mobile, through the wireless trade group CTIA, asked the commission to strip the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands, 290 MHz of the 482, saying about 300 million users depend on them, a request The Inference reported before the vote ¹². T-Mobile's▲+7.05% — T-Mobile, up 7.05 percent today filing warned satellite interference could erase up to 96% of a cell site's uplink coverage and cut uplink speeds by 88 to 99%↗ ².

T-Mobile is also SpaceX's launch partner for first-generation Starlink Mobile, its chief executive Srini Gopalan has ruled out a resale deal, calling satellite "a complementary product", and all three carriers agreed in principle in May to pool spectrum for their own satellite venture ¹³. SpaceX's filing the same week called T-Mobile's proposed 400-kilometre buffer around towers, floated for the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference, disenfranchising↗ ³.

Satellites cleared, 80,000 tower sites in negotiation

The rest of the build is bought or cleared: 15,000 next-generation direct-to-cell satellites authorized on October 6, three Tristar AWS-3 licenses approved on October 21, Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz portfolio agreed this month ¹⁷. Bloomberg reports SpaceX is negotiating access to a minimum of 80,000 cell sites↗ ⁵⁶. Third-quarter revenue was $14.58 billion↗, up 161%, with net income of $4.4 billion and connectivity revenue of $5.25 billion, up 69% ⁴⁹.

Two price tags and a 60-day clock

The open number is cost. Verizon chief executive Dan Schulman, who says he assumes SpaceX will execute flawlessly, prices a full terrestrial network at $300 to $500 billion over seven or eight years ⁵. LightShed Partners puts an initial build at $10 to $15 billion, spectrum excluded, and writes that SpaceX "is not bluffing" ⁵.

MoffettNathanson analyst Nick Del Deo calls the 80,000-site plan a "head scratcher" that may be leverage for a wholesale deal no incumbent will sign ⁵. Tower landlords have repriced anyway: Crown Castle▲+1.01% — Crown Castle, up 1.01 percent today rose more than 9% on the site report ⁵.

The calendar decides the rest. Federal Register publication starts the 60-day clock, and final rules settle whether 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz survive ¹. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell targets early 2028 for service on the company's own airwaves; Musk says two to three years ¹⁵.

Retail reads SPCX bearish, down 5% in October and 11% year to date↗ ⁴, while AST SpaceMobile▼−6.83% — AST SpaceMobile, down 6.83 percent today, which rents carriers' spectrum rather than replacing it, rose as much as 6% on the vote↗ ⁸. Musk has hinted at an analyst event within weeks ⁵; the first buildout figure SpaceX puts on paper prices the option SPCX holders are already trading.