SpaceX’s plan to turn Starlink Mobile into a full-scale American mobile carrier is now being costed out loud by the companies it would compete against, with estimates running from more than $200 billion to as much as $500 billion. The figures came from the chief executives of Deutsche Telekom and Verizon in late October and early November 2026, after Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was in talks to secure access to at least 80,000 US cell sites.
Two different things share the Starlink Mobile name, and only one of them is being priced. Starlink Mobile as it exists today is a direct-to-cell service: an ordinary handset with no bars connects straight to a satellite passing overhead, using partner carriers’ licensed airwaves — satellite internet delivered to a phone instead of to a dish. What the rival chief executives are costing is the other thing: a ground-based 5G network of SpaceX’s own, on SpaceX’s own spectrum, with the satellites reduced to one layer of it rather than the whole product.
Key facts
- Elon Musk told SpaceX’s earnings call that satellite launches and spectrum purchases “will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US,” as quoted by Yahoo Finance.
- SpaceX is reportedly in talks with infrastructure owners, including tower operator Crown Castle, over at least 80,000 cell sites.
- In early October it bought a nationwide portfolio of low-band spectrum licences — up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz range, subject to FCC regulation — for a reported $8 billion, according to AOL.
- Under a deal with chipmaker Qualcomm, Qualcomm will supply the cellular technology for tens of thousands of 5G cell sites from 2027.
The four cost estimates below are attempts to put a price on exactly that list of commitments.
Why it matters
Starlink Mobile has until now been a satellite service bolted onto other people’s phone networks. The reported tower talks, the spectrum purchase and the chip supply deal together describe something different: a hybrid carrier that owns both layers and sells satellite internet and conventional 5G under one brand. If it gets built, the United States acquires a fourth national network run by a company whose satellite layer already reaches places towers never will, which is why the incumbents are treating this as a regulatory fight as much as a commercial one. If it stalls — and $500 billion spread over six or seven years is the kind of number that stalls things — SpaceX is still left holding nationwide low-band licences and a direct-to-cell business the same carriers pay to resell, so even the downside case produces a stronger supplier rather than a failed entrant. For subscribers on either side, nothing moves until the spectrum rules do.
The cost argument: four numbers that do not match
Three of the four come from executives of the companies Starlink Mobile would compete with. The fourth, and the lowest, is an estimate built on top of another estimate.
- Goldman Sachs via AOL, tower rent only — an estimate of an estimate: analysts led by Michael Ng told clients the average cellular tenant pays roughly $50,000 a year to lease space on a cell tower. AOL multiplied that benchmark out to about $4 billion a year in rent for an 80,000-site network, or $20 billion to $40 billion over a typical five- to ten-year leasing period. It is a news outlet’s arithmetic on an analyst’s average rather than a company’s own costing, and AOL said it assumes every site is a traditional tower and excludes equipment, backhaul, operations and other investment.
- Tim Höttges, Deutsche Telekom, all-in: more than $200 billion for a network able to challenge established carriers, according to Samaa TV. He said he was taking SpaceX’s ambitions “super serious.”
- Daniel Schulman, Verizon, all-in: $300 billion to $500 billion over the next six to seven years, on a minimum four-to-six-year buildout, Yahoo Finance reported. He said SpaceX would likely need 65,000 to 80,000 sites plus backhaul capability, fibre optic cable, spectrum rights and radio access network capacity.
- Musk, timeline only: the buildout “will take 2 or 3 years,” he replied on X, without commenting on Schulman’s cost figures, per Yahoo Finance.
“There is no magic wand. There’s no secret sauce. There’s no shortcut,” Schulman told analysts.
What SpaceX has lined up so far
Samaa TV reported that SpaceX has already deployed thousands of direct-to-cell satellites and that its next challenge is the ground infrastructure for a wider 5G network. AOL called the 800 MHz purchase SpaceX’s first real incursion into the sector, explaining that low-band frequencies travel further and penetrate buildings better than higher ones; SpaceX plans to combine them with ground antennas, cell towers and Starlink satellites.
Scale is the open question. AOL cited Goldman Sachs saying Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile each lease space on roughly 60,000 to 80,000 US cell towers combined, against about 175,000 traditional towers nationwide according to SNL Kagan data.
How the incumbents are responding
AT&T chief executive John Stankey told analysts the task “is not something that gets done overnight,” adding that it takes years and huge investment to reach the performance customers expect from scaled networks. Speaking to Business Insider, he pointed to indoor coverage in stadiums and hospitals and said he would not “over-rotate on what I would call one carrier of low band spectrum.”
Schulman argued satellite service cannot compete with terrestrial networks in the suburban and urban areas where Verizon makes about 98% of its revenue, claiming Verizon is between 100 and 1,000 times more efficient. Deutsche Telekom, the German group that owns T-Mobile, has pushed back publicly as well. AOL reported that the news nonetheless knocked AT&T and T-Mobile shares down by as much as 6% on the Friday it emerged, with Verizon off 1.5%.
UBS analyst John Hodulik wrote that a Starlink wireless build remains an overhang for AT&T but that it will take time for Starlink to scale, AOL reported. Goldman’s analysts described the tower talks as progress towards a lease agreement rather than a lease agreement itself.
What it changes for Starlink customers today
Nothing in the four reports changes the satellite internet service Starlink sells now: none of them mentions a change to current dish or data plan pricing, or to the list of countries where the service is sold. The contrast is sharp — Starlink’s satellite internet has published hardware and monthly prices market by market, while no consumer price has been published for the mobile product the rivals are busy pricing in the hundreds of billions.
That spending would also buy a terrestrial network in a single market: the United States, and only the United States — the 80,000 sites, the 800 MHz licences and the FCC process are all American. Readers elsewhere should treat this as a US story, because satellite internet availability and pricing in other countries turn on national licences and local regulators rather than on how many US towers SpaceX leases; our country-by-country availability coverage tracks that separately. The nearest the sources come to rural coverage anywhere is Stankey’s remark to Business Insider that low-Earth orbit constellations are “fantastic for delivering bandwidth to rural areas,” especially where physical infrastructure is too expensive to build.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people already use Starlink Mobile?
Business Insider reported that Elon Musk and SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell gave a figure of more than 22 million monthly Starlink Mobile users in October 2026.
Has SpaceX agreed to buy Boost Mobile?
No. Samaa TV reported that SpaceX is reportedly in talks to acquire Boost Mobile, a US mobile service, which could give it a ready route into the American mobile market. Samaa TV stressed that the reported discussions do not confirm a completed acquisition.
How many satellites has the FCC cleared Starlink to launch?
Shotwell said Starlink recently received approval from the US Federal Communications Commission to launch 15,000 V2 satellites, according to Business Insider. She disclosed the approval on the same day the company reported its Starlink Mobile user figures.
Are the incumbents fighting SpaceX at the regulator?
Yes. According to AOL, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, together with the wireless trade association CTIA, are jointly lobbying the FCC to preserve current cell-service spectrum rules and are opposing proposed changes.
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