TMUS · News · 20261106N

Competition and New Entrants

T-Mobile US, Inc. · 2026-11-06 · Importance 13 · Surprise 6

Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges said SpaceX would need at least €200 billion (about $220 billion) to compete effectively with established U.S. wireless carriers. He said the investment would cover acquiring substantially more spectrum and building terrestrial infrastructure comparable to T-Mobile’s 85,000 towers. Höttges expects SpaceX to enter the market but said satellite networks cannot fully replace traditional terrestrial coverage.

Key facts

• T-Mobile US has 85,000 towers, cited as the terrestrial infrastructure benchmark for a potential SpaceX competitor. source