T-Mobile's stock fell as much as 10.8% during trading, Verizon dropped 7.2%, and AT&T declined 7.1%. This sell-off extended the post-market decline from Thursday and spread to European telecom stocks.
The catalyst for the sell-off was SpaceX's approximately $8 billion spectrum deal, which could ultimately allow Elon Musk's company to directly compete for mobile users, rather than just providing satellite coverage to existing carriers.
Why are telecom stocks down today?
SpaceX stated in an official announcement that it plans to acquire up to 14 MHz of nationwide paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band.
This agreement with Grain Management will enable Starlink Mobile to combine satellite connectivity with traditional terrestrial wireless infrastructure.
Low-frequency spectrum is particularly valuable because it travels farther and penetrates buildings more easily than high-frequency signals.
This could help Starlink overcome long-standing limitations that have prevented satellite services from replacing traditional mobile networks.
Investors initially reacted to the Starlink spectrum deal with a general 7% decline in the stock prices of major U.S. carriers. Friday’s deeper sell-off indicates that market concerns have intensified.
The threats facing T-Mobile are particularly complex.
T-Mobile has partnered with Starlink to provide satellite connectivity in areas without traditional cellular coverage.
However, SpaceX's expansion into ground-based wireless services could ultimately turn this relationship into direct competition.
Starlink's rapidly expanding connectivity business generated quarterly revenue of approximately $4.3 billion, indicating its commercial scale is growing.
AT&T is advancing a competitive satellite strategy through its partnership with Amazon Leo, and Verizon may also face similar pressure to enhance its satellite capabilities.
The sell-off also affected Europe. Deutsche Telekom's stock fell by approximately 7.9%, reflecting market concerns that competition in satellite infrastructure could extend beyond the United States.

