SpaceX Buys Low-Frequency Spectrum in the US and Aims to Become a Mobile Operator
Space technology company SpaceX has agreed to buy Grain Management's 800 MHz spectrum portfolio covering the entire United States. The company says it wants to become a significant mobile operator, going beyond its Starlink internet service.
The American space technology company SpaceX has announced that it wants to become a significant mobile operator. This means the company plans to operate beyond Starlink, its satellite broadband internet service. To move toward that goal, SpaceX has agreed to purchase radio spectrum in the 800 MHz band from the company Grain Management.
What the deal covers
According to the announcement, SpaceX will acquire 100 percent of Grain Management's 800 MHz spectrum portfolio, which covers the whole territory of the United States. The deal includes up to 14 MHz of paired low-frequency spectrum. Low frequencies matter for mobile networks because they can provide coverage over wider areas.
Why it matters
The spectrum purchase is one of the steps by which SpaceX is trying to move from being a satellite internet provider to becoming a participant in the mobile communications market. If the plans are carried out, the company would enter a market where traditional mobile operators have so far been the main players.
The source text is truncated at this point, so further terms of the deal, its price and the implementation timeline are not known from the available information.
