Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) climbed 1% overnight late Thursday after reports surfaced that the company and SpaceX (SPCX) are eyeing a massive low-band spectrum portfolio.
Grain Management has asked interested parties to submit preliminary offers by the first week of September for 800 MHz licenses it recently acquired from T-Mobile.
Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussions, that Grain is seeking approximately $6 billion for the portfolio, though it could also opt to lease rather than sell.
The portfolio includes 817-824 MHz uplink and 862-869 MHz downlink frequencies spanning 3,224 counties, covering nearly the entire U.S. population.
Low-band airwaves travel farther and penetrate buildings more effectively than higher frequencies, making them particularly attractive for satellite voice, rural coverage, and direct smartphone connections.
The Federal Communications Commission called the licenses a “valuable source of paired, broadband-ready, low-band spectrum” that had been significantly underutilized.
T-Mobile inherited the portfolio through its Sprint acquisition but never deployed it, transferring the licenses to Grain last week in exchange for $2.9 billion and Grain’s 600 MHz holdings covering 212 counties.
AST may already hold a technical advantage, as the FCC last week granted it a 30-day authorization to test direct-to-device service on the same frequencies using up to 100 commercially available phones.
The controlled, noncommercial tests are permitted through Sept. 12 near Midland, Texas, and Lanham, Maryland, with AST stating they would demonstrate broadband satellite coverage “without harmful interference.”
The FCC authorization does not provide commercial spectrum rights or signal that AST will win Grain’s competitive process, but it allows the company to demonstrate compatibility while evaluations proceed.
The 800 MHz frequencies also sit alongside low-band spectrum already supplied to AST by partners including AT&T, Verizon, and FirstNet, potentially creating broader capacity for its BlueBird satellite network.
For SpaceX, the portfolio could add a wide-coverage layer to Starlink’s direct-to-cell strategy, which currently relies on T-Mobile’s PCS spectrum for its U.S. service.
The 800 MHz licenses could complement SpaceX’s planned EchoStar mid-band spectrum purchases by supporting voice and broad rural coverage where higher-frequency signals fall short.
The FCC has required Grain to conduct a transparent competitive solicitation for satellite partners and complete it by Nov. 5, with complete direct-to-device applications expected as early as Dec. 4.
On Thursday, ASTS fell 2% during regular trading, while SPCX slid 4% amid a 319 million-share unlock and delayed expectations for another Starship catch, before both recovered overnight.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was “bearish” for ASTS and “neutral” for SPCX, while message volume remained “low” for both tickers.
Over the past year, ASTS shares have climbed 44%, while SPCX stock has fallen 17%, reflecting sharply divergent investor confidence in the two competing satellite ventures.
