AT&T Slides on SpaceX Spectrum

SpaceX just shook up the U.S. telecom market by striking a deal to acquire low-band spectrum—the kind that reaches indoors—giving its Starlink Mobile ambitions a real shot at competing with legacy carriers. The market didn’t take it lightly: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile stocks nosedived, and their bonds slipped as well. The move puts SpaceX on track for a late-2027 mobile launch, but there’s a catch—building a true nationwide network still demands major terrestrial infrastructure, and industry skeptics aren’t convinced SpaceX can pull it off without partnering up or cherry-picking easier markets.

Meanwhile, AT&T is hedging its bets by spinning up a new fiber joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partners and CPP Investments, aiming to double its fiber reach by 2030. This off-balance-sheet deal lets AT&T ramp up without weighing down its own finances, just as it faces fresh competitive threats from both satellites and fixed wireless. But giving up some control means AT&T’s results will hinge on how fast they can build and how many customers sign up in those 16 targeted states—timed to go live just as SpaceX plans to enter.

For extra depth, we draw from reporting by Axios, Bloomberg, NBC News, Light Reading, Wired, Fierce Network, and The Sunday Guardian.

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