Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) fell 4% after hours Thursday after SpaceX agreed to acquire nationwide spectrum that AST had previously pursued.
ASTS stock had already dropped 6% during regular trading to close at $56.93, its lowest closing price in over a month.
Shares are down nearly 3% for the week, putting ASTS on track for a second consecutive weekly decline.
AT&T (T), T-Mobile US (TMUS), and Verizon Communications (VZ) each fell about 6% in overnight trading late Thursday following the news.
Grain Management confirmed Thursday that SpaceX would acquire its entire nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio, subject to Federal Communications Commission approval and other conditions.
The portfolio includes up to 14 megahertz of paired low-band spectrum, which SpaceX said addresses a key remaining technical gap in Starlink Mobile’s push to become a major U.S. mobile carrier.
SpaceX outlined a hybrid network combining satellites with terrestrial infrastructure, with its 2 GHz mid-band spectrum providing high-bandwidth capacity and low-band frequencies delivering indoor coverage.
“This is the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America,” Elon Musk said on X following the announcement.
Musk added in a separate post: “To the casual observer, this won’t seem like much. To those who understand the spectrum wars, it’s an earthquake.”
Telecom analyst Roger Entner, founder of Recon Analytics, had predicted in August that Grain’s spectrum portfolio would ultimately land with Starlink as the foundation of a terrestrial voice layer.
After Thursday’s announcement, Entner stated plainly: “Ligado is next,” directing attention to AST’s existing agreements with Ligado Networks for access to up to 45 MHz of lower mid-band spectrum in the U.S. and Canada.
Those agreements include a $550 million payment contingent on closing and at least $80 million in annual L-band spectrum access payments for satellite direct-to-device services.
Entner had previously argued that Musk would not need to replicate AT&T or T-Mobile’s full infrastructure, calling a $10 billion to $20 billion terrestrial overlay financially manageable.
He placed the broader mobile opportunity in the 2030-2032 timeframe, dependent on standards development and the deployment of higher-capacity satellites.
AST had shown direct interest in Grain’s frequencies before SpaceX locked in the deal, with an FCC filing from June 30 stating that more than 80% of its Block 2 satellite production included 800 MHz capability.
SpaceX’s agreement closes off a potential source of additional low-band spectrum for AST, though it leaves AST’s existing carrier arrangements with AT&T and Verizon intact.
Silicon Valley-based satellite and spectrum consultant Tim Farrar shifted attention further, writing on X: “All eyes will now be on Viasat as the last available holder of a substantial block of global spectrum.”
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon recently formalized a satellite joint venture, with interim CEO Paul Roth at the helm, while their individual deals with SpaceX and AST remain in place.
Entner described the alliance as “an attempt to stop Elon Musk’s satellite standard from becoming the only standard,” adding that “the carriers want an open standard, not an Elon standard.”
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for ASTS slipped to neutral from bullish levels a day earlier, accompanied by a 121% jump in 24-hour message volumes, with one user calling the SpaceX deal a “big blow for AST.”
ASTS stock has declined 22% year-to-date as the spectrum race between SpaceX and the established carrier ecosystem continues to intensify heading into 2027.
