T-Mobile, for one, isn't taking the SpaceX threat lightly at all

Telcos left and right are bracing together, for The Big Beautiful Satellite is coming: Elon Musk's SpaceX seems determined to become the fourth major player in the game that's currently dominated by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in the US.

Sure, the traditional players will take a stand against SpaceX:

• AT&T and T-Mobile reportedly ready to show SpaceX what happens when you mess around

… but they're right to feel threatened.

The parent company acts like a parent

T-Mobile's parent company is Deutsche Telekom (DT). Its CEO, Tim Höttges is focused on the next move by SpaceX and is taking the possibility of SpaceX entering the US wireless market very seriously. DT's CEO said the company expects SpaceX to become a full-blooded rival. However, he believes Musk will approach the market with a different business model. "We are taking this upcoming competition very seriously because we are assuming that it's coming", he said.

It would be very unwise to think otherwise. After all, SpaceX's plans are becoming more and more concrete. Qualcomm has agreed to supply 5G components for a nationwide network, while others say SpaceX is negotiating with tower companies to gain access to around 80,000 sites. Combine that with its recent spectrum acquisitions and it becomes clear how the company is preparing to build a hybrid satellite-and-cellular network.

Sure, SpaceX's network is nowhere near completed nor is it operational yet, but investors are already making calculations about the competition it'll bring once it materializes. Höttges noted that the share prices of Verizon, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have suffered over the past six months, partly because investors expect a new competitor to take market share and put more pressure on prices.

On the bright side, the CEO doesn't believe SpaceX can simply walk into the market and challenge the established carriers overnight. He estimates that building a network capable of competing with the Big 3 could take years and require around $200 billion, as well as considerably more spectrum. To illustrate the gap, he compared SpaceX's 79MHz of low- and midband spectrum to a dirt road, while T-Mobile's 400MHz is more like an autobahn.

And who doesn't enjoy riding on an autobahn? Well, sometimes, the dirt road is a bit funnier…

T-Mobile for sale?

As you know, Deutsche Telekom owns about 55% of T-Mobile, which is now the German group's biggest source of revenue. In Q3 2026, its US business generated dozens of billions of dollars in net revenue.

Given how important T-Mobile is to the group, Höttges unsurprisingly dismissed speculation that SpaceX could buy the US carrier. He said Deutsche Telekom has absolutely no interest in selling its business.

The Big 3 or the Big 4?

I think it would be great if another player joined the game. Not because I'm a die-hard fan of Elon Musk—the fourth major player doesn't even have to be SpaceX per se—but because having a new face does miracles for competition.

Sure, this hypothetical fourth player might get lazy and accustomed to the easy way with time. It might ironically become the very thing it once swore to fight, but for a two, three year period (at least), we'd be enjoying a healthy competition between the giants.

Also, like this Redditor puts in, it's cool to have satellite-operating phones:



The good old cell tower won't go away (and it shouldn't, as terrestrial cell towers are easier and cheaper to maintain and repair), but let's go to the future already, shall we?

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