AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile fall 4% to 5% on report SpaceX is talking to tower owners
A report said SpaceX is in talks with Crown Castle for access to at least 80,000 cell sites, a step toward a fourth nationwide wireless carrier.
The three big U.S. wireless carriers fell sharply on Friday after a news report said SpaceX is in talks with Crown Castle, one of the largest owners of cellular towers, to secure access to at least 80,000 cell sites across the country.
AT&T fell 4.3% to $21.76, Verizon fell 4.3% to $43.25 and T-Mobile fell 5% to $150.82 in premarket trading. Crown Castle jumped about 12% to $88.56 and fellow tower owner American Tower rose about 7%, while SpaceX gained about 2%.
The reported talks, which cited people familiar with the private discussions and were not independently confirmed, would solidify SpaceX's path toward building a fourth nationwide wireless carrier. Elon Musk, SpaceX's chief executive, has been vocal about wanting to create a standalone wireless carrier from scratch, which would mean new competition for the three dominant providers. European telecom shares also slid on the report.
