SpaceX is seeking access to at least 80,000 cell sites across the United States for its planned mobile network.
According to the report by Kelcee Griffis, the company is in talks with at least one major telecommunications tower operator, Crown Castle, citing people familiar with the discussions.
The proposed deals could pave the way for SpaceX to become the fourth nationwide mobile network operator in the US, competing with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.
Bloomberg reported that the agreements could be worth billions of dollars.
The development follows a question raised during Crown Castle’s third-quarter earnings call on October 21, when an analyst asked chief executive Chris Hillabrant about the company’s leasing arrangements with satellite operators, specifically mentioning SpaceX and Amazon.
“I don’t think I want to get into customer-specific detail, but you can assume that we’re talking to all parties,” Hillabrant, said.
Amazon has also asked the US Federal Communications Commission for approval to deploy its own direct-to-phone satellite service.
SpaceX has said it plans to offer mobile phone services directly to consumers in the United States.
Earlier this month, the company agreed to acquire nationwide low-band 800 MHz spectrum, a move Crown Castle chief executive Chris Hillabrant described as a “huge milestone”.
Low-band spectrum can cover large geographical areas and penetrate buildings more effectively than higher-frequency signals.
The US FCC has also approved 15,000 SpaceX satellites designed to connect directly to mobile phones.
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk outlined the ground infrastructure component of the plan during the company’s quarterly earnings call last week.
“We will be building out our terrestrial networks so there’s broad-based connectivity anywhere that SpaceX and Starlink are allowed to operate,” Musk stated.
