U.S., European Telecoms Slide on Report SpaceX Plans Wireless Network Expansion

By Joe Stonor

Shares in U.S. telecoms majors slid premarket after a report said SpaceX is accelerating plans to develop a U.S.-wide cellular network.

Telecoms heavyweights fell sharply in premarket trade. SpaceX's ambitions would build a fourth major U.S. mobile network, putting it in direct competition with industry incumbents. Shares in AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile US all fell close to 4% in premarket trade.

In Europe, Deutsche Telekom, which owns a controlling stake in T-Mobile US, dropped 3.1%, while Vodafone and Orange share slid by around 1.5%.

SpaceX is targeting a minimum 80,000 cell sites across the U.S., Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. Shares in the Elon Musk-run company gained around 2% premarket.

SpaceX is in talks with Crown Castle regarding its network buildout, according to Bloomberg. Crown Castle shares jumped around 6.5% premarket, while fellow listed cell-tower operator American Tower also gained.

SpaceX didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Bloomberg. Crown Castle's chief executive in an earnings call said that "you can assume that we're talking to all parties" when asked about discussing leases with SpaceX or other satellite-based telecom providers. He declined to discuss specific customer details, Bloomberg said.

Shares in telecoms majors fell earlier this week after SpaceX reaffirmed its plans to expand into the wireless market in its quarterly earnings. The arrival of the rocket and artificial intelligence company to the cellular market threatens to disturb dominance enjoyed by the big three U.S. telecoms names since T-Mobile's 2020 acquisition of Sprint.

Write to Joe Stonor at josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2026 06:53 ET (10:53 GMT)