By Al Root
SpaceX won't be an MVNO if AT&T has anything to do with it.
That's great. But what's an MVNO?
The acronym is short for Mobile Virtual Network Operator. Think Mint Mobile or Cricket Wireless, companies that rent cell towers and wireless spectrum at wholesale prices.
Wireless spectrum -- the frequencies that wireless calls travel over -- is a finite resource that every mobile company needs. Just as two radio stations in the same city can't broadcast on the same frequency, companies such as AT&T, Verizon Communications, and T-Mobile US need spectrum for their customers' calls and data.
Cricket Wireless uses AT&T's network. Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile's.
The SpaceX MVNO issue came up on AT&T's April 22 earnings conference call. CEO John Stankey, responding to a question, gave a lengthy answer, hitting on the threat from low Earth orbit, or LEO, satellite operators, AT&T customer relationships, wireless accessibility in hard-to-reach areas, and the strength of AT&T's network.
"Within that context, do I think that I'm looking at satellite LEO right now and saying that that's a place that an MVNO relationship would open up access to customers I don't have today, no, I don't think that's the case," said Stankey. "I like our investment strategy and where we're going to have 60-plus-million fiber homes by the time we get to 2030 and living off that base and being very successful with it."
No Starlink MVNO. Still, the question shows that the telecom sector is thinking about Starlink, SpaceX's space-based broadband product with more than 11,000 satellites providing service to more than 10 million customers.
SpaceX, of course, is planning a midyear IPO that could value Elon Musk's company at up to $2 trillion, more than 10 times AT&T's market capitalization. SpaceX has also been snapping up wireless spectrum in an effort to expand the capabilities of its service.
An MVNO deal could be beneficial to SpaceX by helping Starlink achieve full coverage, enabling it to offer bundled wireless and home internet service in one bill. The wireless carriers might want to keep SpaceX out of their business. They might not guess their wish.
"We don't know whether Starlink is now or will in the future be interested in an MVNO, but if it becomes interested, there are paths to increase its leverage in such a negotiation," wrote New Street Research analyst Blair Levin in a Tuesday report.
SpaceX could use strategies such as the prisoner's dilemma, approaching one wireless company to force others to the table. It could also use its growing spectrum holdings to get companies interested in a deal.
"Again, we do not question Stankey's sincerity....as history demonstrates, however, parties can change the facts in a way that forces facilities-based providers to consider the costs of not doing a deal, rather than simply the upside of doing a deal," added Levin.
Whatever happens, the growth of SpaceX and its coming IPO will create questions for wireless companies that investors will need to answer.
For now, investors aren't too concerned. Shares of T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T are up an average of 5% since early December, when news of a SpaceX IPO broke. That's about two percentage points ahead of the S&P 500.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2026 13:51 ET (17:51 GMT)
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