SpaceX is reportedly in talks to access at least 80,000 U.S. cell towers, advancing its bid to become the fourth national wireless carrier.

According to Reuters citing Bloomberg, SpaceX is in talks with U.S. cellular infrastructure companies to gain access to at least 80,000 cell tower sites nationwide. Insiders said the relevant deal could solidify its path to become the fourth national wireless carrier, challenging AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The report noted SpaceX is acquiring national low-frequency spectrum and has held negotiations with tower firms including Crown Castle. Data from the Wireless Infrastructure Association shows 80,000 sites are roughly half of the total dedicated cellular towers in the U.S. last year, which stood at around 158,500. Public records show Crown Castle operates about 40,000 towers in the U.S., American Tower has roughly 42,000 U.S. sites, and private firm Vertical Bridge owns around 18,000 towers. When asked at Wednesday’s earnings call whether it was in lease talks with satellite communications players like SpaceX and Amazon, Crown Castle CEO Christian Hillabrant said, "You can consider we are in discussions with all parties," but declined to name specific clients. TD Cowen estimates building a national terrestrial network could cost over $80 billion, requiring years of additional capital investment, with related lease transactions potentially running into billions of dollars. Crown Castle, American Tower, Vertical Bridge, and SpaceX did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. Separately, SpaceX recently reached an agreement to acquire a portfolio of approximately 800MHz low-frequency spectrum across the U.S. held by Grain Management, pending FCC approval. This week, the FCC also approved SpaceX’s plan to launch around 15,000 second-generation direct-to-phone satellites. CEO Elon Musk said at an earnings call that SpaceX will build a terrestrial network to achieve wide coverage in areas where SpaceX and Starlink are licensed to operate. Following the news, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile saw post-market declines ranging from 4.2% to 5%.