Musk is speeding up the construction of the “fourth largest operator in the US”! SpaceX (SPCX.US) plans to acquire 80,000 cellular base station communication tower companies to welcome new opportunities

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to people familiar with the matter, SpaceX (SPCX.US) plans to acquire at least 80,000 cellular base stations in the US and is currently in negotiations with at least one major cellular infrastructure company to achieve this goal.

People familiar with the matter mentioned above said that these agreements will further strengthen the rocket and satellite giant's path to becoming the fourth largest national wireless operator in the US. One of the companies currently in talks with SpaceX is Crown City International (CCI.US), which is listed as one of the largest cellular tower owners in the US along with AMT.US (AMT.US) and Vertical Bridge (VRT.US).

Mobile communication networks rely on antennas deployed on communication towers all over the country to transmit wireless signals. Operators usually rent equipment installation space at communication tower sites because this is more cost-effective than owning and maintaining communication towers themselves, in part because these facilities can be shared by multiple operators. The deal with SpaceX could amount to several billion dollars.

On Wednesday's earnings call, when asked if Guancheng International is discussing leases with SpaceX, Amazon (AMZN.US), or other satellite-based telecom service providers, Chris Hilbrandt, CEO of Guancheng International, said, “You can assume that we are in negotiations with all parties involved.” He declined to give specific customer information.

After the above negotiations were reported, Guancheng International's stock price rose 10% during after-hours trading. AT&T (T.US), Verizon (VZ.US), and T-Mobile US (TMUS.US) shares all fell about 5% due to market concerns that new entrants would intensify competition.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made no secret of his intention to build an independent wireless operator from scratch, which will put the existing dominant operator under greater competitive pressure from a new, well-funded and politically influential rival. Although this plan requires significant investment, Musk is continuing to advance.

SpaceX recently acquired low-band spectrum, which will help the company integrate Starlink (Starlink) satellites and other elements to create what Musk described as “a major mobile operator.” The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the company to launch 15,000 satellites dedicated to providing mobile communication services directly to mobile phones. The wireless communication tower site is another critical infrastructure SpaceX must build to establish reliable connections with terrestrial users.

Musk said during the SpaceX earnings call this week: “We will build a terrestrial network to achieve broad coverage, so that anywhere SpaceX and Starlink are approved to operate can be fully connected.” He said the satellite launch plus spectrum acquisition “will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major US mobile operator.” Guancheng International CEO Hilbrandt said that SpaceX's acquisition of low-band spectrum was a “major milestone” in achieving extensive mobile communications coverage.

Earlier this month, after news of SpaceX's latest spectrum acquisition was announced, communication tower companies' stock prices all rose, indicating that the market expects that as SpaceX seeks to build larger infrastructure to deploy the newly acquired frequency bands, these communication tower companies will gain significant business.

SpaceX has previously stated that it plans to use its home internet devices to transmit mobile communication signals around the customer terminal installation site. However, research firm MoffettNathanson LLC said these sites are located where users are located, but not necessarily where they are needed to provide consistent and stable coverage of the entire network.