SpaceX Reportedly Wants to Buy Boost Mobile to Compete With Major Carriers

SpaceX wants to buy Boost Mobile from EchoStar, according to a report by The Washington Post. If the deal happens, it could help the company owned by Elon Musk build a mixed cellular and satellite network and push it into fourth place among top U.S. wireless providers.

The space company has already started working with cellular connectivity. In 2024, SpaceX rolled out satellite access for T-Mobile subscribers the publication after getting permission from the Federal Communications Commission. Last year, SpaceX also bought $17 billion worth of wireless spectrum from EchoStar for mobile services. Musk wrote on X at the time that the purchase was the final piece of the spectrum puzzle needed to give people complete phone coverage across America.

Even after that purchase, Musk spoke directly with EchoStar chairman Charlie Ergen in October about buying Boost Mobile. Boost Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator that serves about 7.5 million customers along with Gen Mobile, another service from EchoStar.

Musk also asked AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon if he could buy network capacity from them, but all three said no. Those major companies might still have a say if SpaceX tries to buy Boost Mobile. Boost does not own its own cell towers, and instead leases network space from AT&T and T-Mobile. Sources told The Washington Post that network leases are usually nontransferable, which means those carriers would likely have to approve any buyout.

The three largest wireless providers each have more than 100 million subscribers, which makes Boost Mobile look tiny by comparison. While buying Boost would give SpaceX an immediate boost in customers, the real value of the deal is gaining access to ground-based cellular networks. Boost currently covers most of the 48 contiguous states. Access to those leased towers would let Starlink connect with devices when users are outside, while letting ground towers handle phones when satellite signals cannot reach inside buildings.

Summary

Buying Boost Mobile could give SpaceX the ground network access it needs to build a competitive cellular-satellite service. Because Boost relies on towers leased from AT&T and T-Mobile, those major carriers could decide whether the deal goes through.