According to reports, SpaceX is negotiating for base station locations, causing volatility in the stock prices of US telecom operators.

Reuters, October 23 - On Friday, reports stated that SpaceX is seeking thousands of base stations for a fourth major wireless carrier, intensifying market concerns about new competition and causing US telecom stocks to fall.

According to Bloomberg on Thursday night, citing sources familiar with the matter, Elon Musk’s rocket and space technology company is in talks (link) to acquire at least 80,000 cell sites to build its wireless operator business from scratch.

AT&T T.N fell 5.6%, reaching its lowest level in over three months; Verizon VZ.N dropped 1.6%; T-Mobile TMUS.N declined 5%.

Deutsche Telekom, which holds over 50% of T-Mobile’s shares, DTEGn.DE, saw its share price fall by 3.2%.

Bernstein analysts said in a report: “Although the competitive impact may take years to materialize, the mere anticipation—along with a series of spectrum and infrastructure moves—could continue to weigh on industry sentiment.”

Base station operators and SpaceX have not yet responded to requests for comment.

The report comes just weeks after SpaceX acquired low-band spectrum (link) to advance its carrier plans. This move posed a direct orbital challenge to traditional US wireless giants, causing AT&T and Verizon shares to experience their worst single-day decline in more than two decades.

Bernstein analysts noted that MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) deals with SpaceX may not be attractive to telecom operators, but the unified opposition to these agreements has done little to improve market sentiment, forcing carriers to re-evaluate their options.

SpaceX’s Starlink project has generated revenue by providing internet services in sparsely populated and rural areas, but it would take years of effort (link) and the construction of ground networks for it to truly become a major operator’s competitor.

However, communication tower operator Crown Castle CCI.N saw its share price surge 11.6% after reports indicated the company is among those in talks with SpaceX for mobile communications infrastructure cooperation.

Other operators' stocks also rose, including American Tower AMT.N up 4.9%, and SBA Communications SBAC.N rising 4.6%.

SpaceX shares increased by 1.7%.

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