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Elon Musk wants to take on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. He may have found a way

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Elon Musk wants to take on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. He may have found a way

The world’s richest man commands electric vehicles, spacecraft, a fleet of satellites for an internet network, robots, an AI tool, a social media platform, and more. Now, Elon Musk is eyeing wireless phone service.

SpaceX, the parent company of various Musk ventures including Starlink, is reportedly in talks to acquire low-cost carrier Boost Mobile—or at the very least, gain access to its network—according to reporting by The Washington Post. This deal could see Musk upend the telecom space as his plans to launch a mobile phone service through SpaceX failed to launch after the three major carriers—Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T—refused to give the company access to their networks.

This potential deal could culminate weeks of escalating speculation about how, exactly, Musk will fulfill his ambitions after being rebuffed by the major carriers. Last month, SpaceX paid about $8 billion to buy a portfolio of nationwide low-band cellulular spectrum licenceses, which would allow its Starlink Mobile to provide cellular service within buildings.

That deal addresssed “one of the key remaining technical gaps that will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the U.S.,” the company said in a statement.

Last month, Musk was also reportedly meeting with Charlie Ergen, chairman of EchoStar, which owns Boost Mobile. The men discussed SpaceX acquiring Boost Mobile or SpaceX gaining access to its network, which it leases from AT&T and T-Mobile US, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Washington Post .


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