Is SpaceX’s Starlink About To Change The Telecom Game? Experts Weigh In

Market commentator The Kobeissi Letter said in a post on X that SpaceX’s telecom portfolio acquisition would bring “one of the biggest disruptions in the history” for the industry.

• Elon Musk said on social media that the move was “the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America.”
• Investor and influencer Sawyer Merritt said in a post on X, “Starlink Mobile is about to change the game.”
• Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster probed the likelihood that Starlink would soon launch a mobile device of its own.

The telecom industry took a hit on Thursday after Elon Musk’s SpaceX (SPCX) said it is on track to compete with major U.S. mobile carriers, adding that it had agreed to acquire up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band.

Shares of AT&T (T), T-Mobile US (TMUS), Verizon (VZ) and Comcast (CMCSA) slipped following the news. 

Experts believe that Starlink’s formal entry into the telecom space will disrupt the sector. 

Investor and influencer Sawyer Merritt said in a post on X, “Starlink Mobile is about to change the game,” as it acquires spectrum licenses that bring it closer to becoming a full-fledged mobile carrier in the U.S.

Wall Street Chatter About SpaceX’s Telecom Ambitions Rises

Market commentator The Kobeissi Letter said in a post on X that this development would bring “one of the biggest disruptions in the history of the telecom and internet industry.”

The Kobeissi Letter noted that, for decades, the industry has suffered from limited competition, slow innovation, and increasingly mediocre service.

“SpaceX, $SPCX, is about to change that. This is a clear wake up call to the current giants of the industry. Evolve or you will be left behind,” it said. 

‌William Blair ⁠analysts noted, according to a report from Reuters, that the incumbent wireless carriers have been vocal in expressing skepticism that SpaceX's network will be able to match the quality of their networks. "We expect SpaceX to offer a very compelling Starlink broadband and Starlink Mobile bundle. The company may also include Grok in the package," they said. 

CEO Elon Musk said on social media that the move was “the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America.”

At present, SpaceX provides mobile connectivity through Starlink Direct to Cell, which connects existing 4G LTE phones directly to satellites in areas without terrestrial cellular coverage, working with mobile operators such as T-Mobile in the U.S. 

According to SpaceX’s 2025 progress report, the service had connected more than 12 million people at least once, with over 6 million people actively using it each month on average in areas without traditional mobile coverage.

Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya took to X to note that the latest portfolio acquisition “is a very big deal.”

Musk said in a separate post that, “This will sound super crazy, but I see a path to SpaceX being worth orders of magnitude more than the current Earth economy.”

Mach33 founder and CEO Aaron Burnett said in a post on X that phones coming in 2027 and 2028 will have chipsets that can handle Starlink mobile’s other higher-throughput spectrum natively. “Another part of the spectrum puzzle that’s already sorted but part of the conversation before SpaceX was public so has gone under the radar,” he said. Musk confirmed this with a ‘Yes’ on X. 

Is A Starlink Mobile On The Cards?

Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster probed the likelihood that Starlink would soon launch a mobile device of its own. 

“Elon says he doesn’t want to make a phone. I still think $SPCX eventually will,” he said in a post on X. 

Munster said that a vertically integrated handset on a Starlink mobile network could deliver features that other telecom carriers would not be able to match, and it would be much cheaper service.

“That’s a bigger problem for Samsung than Apple. $AAPL’s device and services tie-in is harder to break,” he said. 

Earlier this year, Musk said that a Starlink phone was “not out of the question.” On X, he said a phone from the company would be “very different” from current phones, optimized for running maximum-performance or watt neural nets. 

However, in February, Musk had confirmed that SpaceX was not developing a mobile device at the time, putting rumors to rest. 

Retail Stance On SPCX, VZ, T, TMUS Stocks

On Stocktwits, the telecom carriers were drawing attention amid SpaceX’s latest news. 

Retail sentiment around SPCX stock was ‘bullish’ at the time of writing amid ‘high’ message volumes. The stock was also among the top trending tickers on the platform. 

Meanwhile, retail sentiment around T stock was ‘bullish’ despite its slump, while sentiment was ‘extremely bullish’ for both VZ and TMUS. 

One user said, “$SPCX Elon Musk's SpaceX just made a huge play to challenge the phone industry and stocks like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are getting crushed.”

However, another user said, “$VZ $T dont care about starlink. These will be solid for a long long time.”

SPCX stock was up more than 3% in the overnight session at the time of writing. Meanwhile, VZ stock was down nearly 6% in extended trading hours. T stock and TMUS stock were also down more than 6% each, respectively. 

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