T-Mobile pushes back on SpaceX’s bid to take its customers
T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer John Saw is weighing in on SpaceX’s latest move to turn its satellite-to-mobile service, Starlink Mobile, into a major wireless carrier.
On Oct. 8, SpaceX announced in a press release an agreement to acquire nationwide low-band spectrum licenses covering up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band. It said the deal, which requires final approval from the Federal Communications Commission, “will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US.”
SpaceX has been working toward building a terrestrial network for Starlink Mobile in recent months. On an August earnings call, SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell said she expects the upcoming service to win customers from T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T.
“I anticipate us to be able to acquire quite a few of their customers because I think our service will be better,” said Shotwell. “We will eliminate dead zones leveraging basically the satellites in orbit.”
T-Mobile CTO: SpaceX faces a tough road to becoming a major rival
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, SpaceX is purchasing the spectrum licenses from Grain Management for $8 billion in cash. However, in a LinkedIn post responding to the deal, Saw said SpaceX needs to invest much more to turn Starlink Mobile into a significant wireless competitor to T-Mobile and other national carriers.
“The U.S. wireless industry has invested more than $250B in network infrastructure since 2018,” wrote Saw. “That’s on top of more than $200B in spectrum auctions over the past decade, plus the stores, care, and distribution that support customers every day. And that investment represents only part of what it takes to deliver a great wireless experience.”
He emphasized that “it takes years” of technology innovation, engineering, network optimization, site acquisition and “relentless execution” to compete in the wireless market, as well as “stores, customer care, distribution, and relationships that customers depend on every day.”
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“You can acquire spectrum in a single transaction,” wrote Saw. “You cannot acquire a nationwide, high-performing wireless network overnight.”
He also said that even after SpaceX’s spectrum purchase from Grain Management, Starlink Mobile still won’t have nearly as much spectrum as T-Mobile.
“Even with this acquisition, Starlink Mobile would have roughly 80 MHz of spectrum, some of it uplink-only,” he wrote. “Compare that to T-Mobile’s nearly 400 MHz of mid-band and low-band spectrum holdings.”
“We used 800 MHz spectrum as a single 5 MHz uplink/5 MHz downlink channel for LTE years ago,” he continued. “Today, we’re operating a nationwide 5G Standalone network, launched nationwide 5G-Advanced, and are already helping shape the path to 6G, all using channels that are much wider.”
Saw said that while he has “tremendous respect” for what SpaceX has built in space, “there’s a big difference between owning spectrum and delivering a great mobile experience to millions of customers.”
“If this is truly the beginning of a new wireless provider in America, we welcome competition,” he wrote. “It’s good for innovation, good for the industry, and most importantly, good for customers.
“But great wireless networks aren’t built with headlines or spectrum licenses alone,” he continued. “They’re built site by site, neighborhood by neighborhood, in subway tunnels, office buildings, stadiums, and communities across America.”
Why Starlink Mobile could be a threat to T-Mobile
Saw’s comments come after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called his company’s spectrum purchase from Grain Management a “very big deal” in a post on social media platform X.
In an Oct. 9 analyst note, Morningstar stock analyst Michael Hodel said his firm has increased its uncertainty rating on T-Mobile stock after shares of U.S. wireless carriers began trading lower following SpaceX’s spectrum deal announcement.
“T-Mobile’s brand and reputation, coupled with a strong network and spectrum position, should drive strong market share gains over the next couple of years,” wrote Hodel. “In the longer term, we expect AT&T and Verizon to match T-Mobile, and that market share will stabilize among the three carriers.”
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“However, SpaceX now threatens to upset the current market structure,” he added. “While we don’t expect SpaceX’s Starlink to enter the US wireless market, the threat of entry could still cause problems.”
SpaceX’s plan to build a terrestrial network to complement Starlink Mobile’s satellite service is already drawing consumer interest. A recent TD Cowen survey, reported by Fierce Network, found that 34% of U.S. consumers would consider switching to Starlink Mobile. This includes 30% of T-Mobile customers.
Amid this growing threat, signs of tension between T-Mobile and SpaceX have emerged in recent weeks.
T-Mobile, which partnered with Starlink to launch its direct-to-cell satellite messaging service T-Satellite in July 2025, officially launched a joint venture with Verizon and AT&T on Oct. 1 to “nearly eliminate” dead zones in the U.S. using satellite connectivity, according to a press release.
The joint venture was first announced in May. Its stated goal of expanding customer choice in satellite services could put it in competition with Starlink and other providers.
Following the joint venture’s launch, T-Mobile quietly removed the Starlink name from its main T-Satellite website, although the partnership between the two companies remains intact.
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