SpaceX reportedly seeks 80,000 cell sites for a national wireless network

SpaceX is reportedly negotiating with cellular-infrastructure providers, including Crown Castle, for access to at least 80,000 U.S. cell sites. These are the physical locations—often space on a tower—where a mobile operator installs antennas and radios, so leasing them is far faster than building a nationwide network from scratch. The talks suggest SpaceX is exploring a much bigger role in phone service than simply using Starlink satellites to cover remote dead zones: paired with the nationwide airwaves it is acquiring, a large ground network could underpin a fourth national carrier alongside AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. But this remains an ambition, not a completed rollout; no agreement covering the sites has been publicly confirmed.