SpaceX reportedly eyes Boost Mobile to challenge big U.S. carriers

SpaceX is reportedly looking to buy Boost Mobile from EchoStar, according to The Washington Post, a deal that would give the Elon Musk-owned company a hybrid cellular-satellite network and could push it into fourth place among U.S. wireless carriers.

The space company already tested cellular connectivity, rolling out satellite access for T-Mobile subscribers in 2024, and last year bought $17 billion of wireless spectrum from EchoStar meant to help Starlink reach inside buildings, something it still struggles with. “This is the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America,” Musk said on X when that purchase closed — yet pursuing Boost Mobile suggests terrestrial access was still missing.

Musk reportedly discussed the acquisition directly with EchoStar chairman Charlie Ergen in October. EchoStar counts roughly 7.5 million customers across Boost Mobile and its other service, Gen Mobile. Musk separately approached AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon about buying network capacity, and all three turned him down — carriers that may still weigh in here, since Boost leases tower capacity from AT&T and T-Mobile rather than operating its own, and such leases are typically nontransferable, sources told the Post.

The big three carriers each count more than 100 million subscribers, dwarfing Boost. But the deal’s real value lies less in that subscriber bump than in reaching terrestrial towers: pairing Boost’s coverage across most of the contiguous U.S. with Starlink would let satellites pick up devices outdoors while towers handle them indoors, where Starlink signals can’t reach.

Why it matters

If the deal closes, SpaceX would gain something spectrum alone can’t buy: physical towers that cover indoors, closing the gap that has limited Starlink’s direct-to-phone service and determining how real a fourth major U.S. wireless competitor it could become.