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T-Mobile already partners with SpaceX on satellite service but opposes a broader MVNO arrangement.
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SpaceX’s Qualcomm-powered terrestrial 5G rollout is expected to begin in 2027, while Musk remains open to acquisitions.
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Buying a carrier could give SpaceX spectrum, infrastructure and customer operations, while saving time.
Shares of SpaceX (SPCX) rose 6% on Monday, extending their winning streak to two sessions, as Barclays said T-Mobile US (TMUS) could offer the strongest strategic fit if Elon Musk pursues a major wireless acquisition. As SpaceX prepares to launch its own nationwide terrestrial 5G network in 2027, Barclays believes acquiring an established carrier could help accelerate that ambition.
SPCX stock jumped to $142.07 on Monday, posting its second consecutive session in the green.
Barclays Sees A Buyout Shortcut For SpaceX
Barclays said U.S. carriers face a trade-off: selling spare network capacity to SpaceX could bring in revenue while helping a future rival.
“That is the prisoner’s dilemma we have highlighted in our prior notes as, individually, each incumbent benefits from monetizing unused network capacity through wholesale but, collectively, they benefit from denying SpaceX terrestrial access,” the brokerage said, according to Barron’s.
For SpaceX, buying a carrier could offer a faster route into consumer wireless than negotiating access and building operations from scratch.
“A major carrier acquisition would simultaneously solve spectrum, [technical issues], roaming, retail/distribution, handset relationships, customer care, device financing and, most importantly, time,” the firm said. “That would make buying increasingly attractive if SpaceX’s objective really is a large-scale consumer mobile business.”
Barclays called T-Mobile the “strategically cleanest Big Three combination,” citing its lower rural share as a natural complement to Starlink’s strength in those areas.
Verizon Communications (VZ), meanwhile, could appeal for different reasons. “Verizon is in some ways the sector wild card, given its mature customer position, balance sheet constraints and greater need to find inorganic ways of changing its growth trajectory,” the firm said.
AT&T (T) has valuable assets but the weakest strategic fit. Even with the potential advantages of buying, Barclays called the path to a deal “convoluted.”
