SpaceX could soon turn up the heat on T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T

In August 2025, Dish Wireless parent EchoStar sold spectrum licenses to AT&T for $23 billion. In a separate deal, EchoStar sold additional spectrum to SpaceX for $19.6 billion. EchoStar needed to sell the airwaves because the company had amassed a large pile of debt with billions soon coming due.

EchoStar's failure could lead to SpaceX fulfilling its 5G dreams 

EchoStar had taken on the debt to help pay for the standalone 5G network it was building, but the company had been unable to take much business away from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon in its attempt to be the fourth facilities-based carrier, replacing Sprint.

Additionally, the FCC was putting the weight of its regulatory power on EchoStar. The FCC, led by its Trump-appointed Chairman Brendan Carr, accused EchoStar of hoarding its inventory of wireless spectrum without having any plans to help the public by putting the airwaves to good use.

Several tower companies hold the fate of Elon Musk's wireless future in their hands

When it stopped working on its standalone 5G network, EchoStar abandoned the equipment that it had acquired for use with its network, such as 5G base stations, radios, antennas, and ground gear. The company defaulted on tower leases and filed for bankruptcy.

As a result of all of this, the tower companies like American Tower and Crown Castle now own this equipment. American Tower President and CEO Steven Vondran made this revelation during his firm's conference call following the release of his firm's third quarter earnings report.
Vondran said the bankruptcy includes an abandonment order and as of the date of that order, American Tower and other tower companies like Crown Castle and SBA Communications took ownership of the gear on their respective properties.

Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T face new competition

But this has led to speculation that SpaceX would be interested in purchasing the equipment. The satellite company has made it known that it would like to create a terrestrial wireless network and this has spooked investors into selling their Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T shares.

The carriers themselves are acting as though they don't have a care in the world even though a trillionaire (Elon Musk) owns over 82% of SpaceX and could make life difficult for the US "Big 3." Clarifying what American Tower's position is toward the equipment formerly owned by Dish Wireless/EchoStar that the tower company now owns, Vondran said during the conference call, "We do own it, and we can provide access to that to all interested parties."

The comment is a clarion call to those wireless firms interested in the radios, base stations, antennas, and other equipment to start bidding for it. This could be quite a battle; not only do you have SpaceX on one side looking to compete with the Big 3 carriers, you have the Big 3 themselves who could use this gear and would also like to keep it out of SpaceX's hands.

SpaceX purchased low-band spectrum last week that can host nationwide 5G service

Just this past week SpaceX purchased low-band 800MHz spectrum from Grain Management. Such airwaves are favored for nationwide 5G since they travel long distances and can penetrate walls and buildings. Low-band delivers slower data speed than mid-band and mmWave spectrum. The spectrum had been purchased by Grain Management from T-Mobile. The latter had acquired the airwaves from Sprint but was looking to sell it since the carrier employs 600MHz low-band spectrum for its nationwide 5G service. 

SpaceX is also rumored to be talking to the tower companies about acquiring access to 80,000 mobile sites. All of this is good news for SpaceX, making Verizon's forecast that it will take six years for the satellite firm to become a competitor in the wireless space seem like wishful thinking.

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