Elon Musk's SpaceX may buy Boost Mobile to make Starlink into a full-fledged carrier

SpaceX has made no secret of its plans to turn Starlink Mobile into a full-fledged US carrier, and last month it bought more spectrum to help make that happen. What it still lacks is a ground network, and last week T-Mobile's CEO ruled out letting Starlink Mobile run on his company's network. Now, according to a new report, Elon Musk may have found a way around that problem, and it's called Boost Mobile.

SpaceX has allegedly held talks with Boost's parent company EchoStar in recent months, and Musk personally met with EchoStar chairman Charlie Ergen in October. The potential deal could see SpaceX buy Boost Mobile outright, or just gain access to its network, which Boost leases from AT&T and T-Mobile. Either way, it would let SpaceX offer service over traditional cell towers indoors and in cities, where its satellite signal isn't currently strong enough.

Musk reportedly asked the heads of all the big three US carriers - Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile - to give SpaceX access to their networks, and all three said no, it wasn't just the magenta carrier. That could still come back to bite Musk, since a carrier's lease agreement typically can't be transferred to a new owner without the host carrier's permission. So AT&T and T-Mobile may need to sign off before a SpaceX service through Boost can actually launch - and the chances of that happening don't seem great.

In August, SpaceX announced its plans to enter the US telecom market and challenge AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, and on a recent earnings call, SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen said the goal is to "become a major mobile carrier ... in the United States". The company allegedly also sees a built-out mobile network as a way to turn its more than 12,000 satellites into a significant new source of revenue.

Verizon's CEO has estimated that it would take SpaceX four to six years to build out the infrastructure it needs, while Musk said it would take about half that. Musk isn't exactly known for hitting his own timelines, though. Verizon and EchoStar declined to comment for the report, while SpaceX, AT&T, and T-Mobile didn't respond.

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