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D.C. Memo: Wall Street to SpaceX: The NO in MVNO Means NO Backdoor Deals

Analysts doubt SpaceX could inherit Boost Mobile’s resale deals with AT&T or T-Mobile to expand Starlink as a mobile competitor

Ted Hearn's avatar
Ted Hearn
Nov 03, 2026
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Boost: SpaceX’s reported interest in EchoStar’s Boost Mobile business is unlikely to give it access to Boost’s wireless resale agreements with AT&T and T-Mobile, according to several Wall Street analysts.

Analysts at Lightshed Partners said investors should be skeptical that acquiring Boost would solve SpaceX’s need for a nationwide terrestrial wireless footprint. “SpaceX cannot simply acquire Boost Mobile and inherit its MVNO agreements with AT&T and T-Mobile, as this morning’s Washington Post story suggests,” analysts Walter Piecyk and Joe Galone wrote Monday. “We see no reason those restrictions would disappear in a change of control or why AT&T and T-Mobile would suddenly want to enable SpaceX as a competitor,” they added. (More after paywall)

Credit: LightShed Partners

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