SpaceX Wireless Expansion: A Lifeline for T-Mobile and Tower Stocks?

Bank of America (BofA) analysts have weighed in on SpaceX's potential wireless industry entry, concluding that it would more likely support T-Mobile and cellular tower operators than threaten their business models.

The assessment follows discussions BofA analysts held with T-Mobile's Chief Technology Officer Dr. John Saw and leadership from Crown Castle.

According to Dr. Saw, replicating just T-Mobile's outdoor network using customer-installed femtocells would demand deployment of 500 million to 1.5 billion units nationwide, costing between several hundred billion dollars to well over a trillion.

Crown Castle executives echoed this skepticism, emphasizing that femtocells serve best as targeted gap-fillers rather than macro network alternatives.

Instead, if SpaceX pursues a robust ground-based wireless network, it would probably leverage existing tower infrastructure. Crown Castle highlighted that current tower sites offer ready access to available space, electrical power, fiber backhaul, regulatory precedents, and established lease frameworks, all of which accelerate deployment compared to developing new locations.