Starlink Mobile Buys $8 Billion of Spectrum to Take on AT&T and Verizon
SpaceX is buying the airwaves it needs to become a real phone company. On Thursday, the company reached a definitive agreement with Grain Management to acquire a nationwide portfolio of 800 MHz low-band spectrum licenses for Starlink Mobile, its satellite-to-phone service. It covers up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum and still needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission. The price tag explains the reaction. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that SpaceX will pay about $8 billion in cash. Neither SpaceX nor Grain confirmed the figure. ...