SpaceX in Talks to Buy Boost Mobile or Use EchoStar’s Network
Key Facts
SpaceX is in talks to buy EchoStar’s Boost Mobile service or secure access to its network, Reuters reported on November 2. Boost Mobile is a wireless service that leases the network it uses from AT&T, according to the report. The available information did not include details on a potential deal’s value or terms. The possible move is part of SpaceX’s effort to expand its presence in mobile services. Buying the service would be a separate path from the existing spectrum agreement between SpaceX and EchoStar.
Boost Mobile continues to serve customers but does not operate its own radio network, according to a decision by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. This means its model relies on other parties’ networks to provide wireless connectivity. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, EchoStar said a future commercial agreement would allow subscribers to its wireless services to access Starlink Direct to Cell services for text, voice and broadband. The agreement links EchoStar’s subscriber base with SpaceX’s satellite connectivity services. The Boost talks remain a separate possibility from the announced commercial arrangement.
The development comes as EchoStar faces a decline in its wireless subscriber base. It ended the second quarter of 2026 with 7.38 million subscribers, after losing about 118,000 during the quarter. The company added 212,000 subscribers in the same quarter of 2025, marking a year-over-year reversal in net additions. It also reported revenue of about $3.58 billion in the second quarter of 2026, compared with $3.72 billion in the same period a year earlier. The figures place the potential talks in the context of a contracting wireless business, without establishing either party’s motives in the negotiations.
The existing spectrum agreement between the two companies was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on May 12, 2026, and the transfer of spectrum assets to a trust was completed on May 22. The final closing of the asset acquisition remains targeted for November 30, 2027, subject to closing conditions. The total value of SpaceX’s agreements with EchoStar rose to about $20 billion after an amendment covering AWS-3 licenses for an additional $2.6 billion. The arrangements also include interim debt-service payments from SpaceX to EchoStar, totaling about $2 billion through November 30, 2027. These commitments illustrate the scale of the existing relationship between the parties but do not determine the outcome of the new Boost Mobile talks.
SpaceX must meet specific performance milestones after the effective date to secure spectrum approvals. It must achieve service availability across 70% of licensed areas after two years, then 80% after four years. SpaceX has also said the spectrum it bought includes terrestrial components, and its president, Gwynne Shotwell, said the company plans to develop them. In October, Bloomberg reported that the company was seeking access to at least 80,000 cell sites to build a wireless carrier from scratch. Following that report, AT&T shares fell 5.6%, Verizon shares fell 1.6% and T-Mobile shares fell 5% in trading on Friday, October 23.
Bernstein analysts said the potential competitive impact could take years, but expectations of successive SpaceX moves in spectrum and infrastructure could continue to weigh on sentiment across the telecom sector. In trading on October 30, EchoStar shares closed at $96.94, while SpaceX shares closed at $134.72 in the private stock market. The specified facts do not include AT&T’s closing price that day. The next specified milestone in the existing agreement remains the targeted closing of the spectrum assets on November 30, 2027, subject to completion conditions. No timeline for the Boost Mobile talks was included in the available information.