European telecom stocks plummeted following the U.S. market: SpaceX is entering the mobile carrier market

Shares of European telecommunications companies fell during trading on October 9 after it was reported that Elon Musk’s Starlink could become a major operator in the U.S. The day before, SpaceX announced that it had finalized a deal to purchase a nationwide spectrum portfolio. Investors are concerned that this will lead to increased competition, according to CNBC.

Shares of Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile US, fell 7.8% at once. Vodafone’s stock dropped 4.3%, Orange’s 3.2%, Telefónica’s 3.3%, and BT Group’s 2.15%.

Shares of U.S. telecom companies—AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile—which had plummeted the previous day, continued to fall in premarket trading on October 9, dropping 5–6%.

SpaceX shares rose 4.2%.

Under the terms of the deal with Grain Management, a company specializing in digital infrastructure, SpaceX is acquiring a portfolio of radio spectrum. The purchase is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. According to the company’s materials, the spectrum consists of frequencies in the 800 MHz band with a total bandwidth of up to 14 MHz — this allows the signal to travel long distances and effectively penetrate obstacles such as building walls, while the high bandwidth enables the transmission of larger volumes of data simultaneously.

SpaceX is already active in the telecommunications market through Starlink Mobile, but so far primarily as a partner to traditional carriers.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor