Discussion - Verizon reportedly preparing for a sale to SpaceX

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DrakoSwiftclaw
DrakoSwiftclaw
Arena Apprentice
• 1h ago

They won't sale and legally speaking they cannot if it means maintaining 3 carriers when regulators STILL want 4.


Everyone is forgetting there is a PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR option for SpaceX to "build it's own network" by literally buying up the assets ALREADY COMPATIBLE with their spectrum out of a bankruptcy court in TX.

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DrakoSwiftclaw
DrakoSwiftclaw
Arena Apprentice
• 1h ago
↵DrakoSwiftclaw said:

They won't sale and legally speaking they cannot if it means maintaining 3 carriers when regulators STILL want 4.


Everyone is forgetting there is a PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR option for SpaceX to "build it's own network" by literally buying up the assets ALREADY COMPATIBLE with their spectrum out of a bankruptcy court in TX.

And once the ink dries on that plus fresh leases with the landlords (and perhaps a low band lease/wholesale roaming agreement with ATT and/or a low band lease from Grain). The vast majority of a network build is in the software stack itself. So with a remote push of the new software stack to use SpaceX's US based IMSI that was registered in 2024 (just as they started the "fight" with Echostar about the spectrum "not being used") onto that hardware -- which is still fully installed -- and SpaceX would have 80% population coverage in a matter of DAYS, not month's or year.


Now this is where this bankruptcy auction is the ultimate shortcut for SpaceX to cheaply build out their own network. Not only could a bid the the entire estate mean the currently installed towers, but it also includes enough hardware NOT installed to expand to thousands more towers AND all the building permits that were not expired when the chapter 11 was filed. The emergency stay freezes all building permits in their current state, so SpaceX could just transfer ownership and extend those permits. But instead of having to wait months for fiber installs, they could light up a new tower every 2-3 days by using Starlink as the initial back haul for new sites while waiting for the fiber installs to happen.

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DrakoSwiftclaw
DrakoSwiftclaw
Arena Apprentice
• 1h ago
↵DrakoSwiftclaw said:

And once the ink dries on that plus fresh leases with the landlords (and perhaps a low band lease/wholesale roaming agreement with ATT and/or a low band lease from Grain). The vast majority of a network build is in the software stack itself. So with a remote push of the new software stack to use SpaceX's US based IMSI that was registered in 2024 (just as they started the "fight" with Echostar about the spectrum "not being used") onto that hardware -- which is still fully installed -- and SpaceX would have 80% population coverage in a matter of DAYS, not month's or year.


Now this is where this bankruptcy auction is the ultimate shortcut for SpaceX to cheaply build out their own network. Not only could a bid the the entire estate mean the currently installed towers, but it also includes enough hardware NOT installed to expand to thousands more towers AND all the building permits that were not expired when the chapter 11 was filed. The emergency stay freezes all building permits in their current state, so SpaceX could just transfer ownership and extend those permits. But instead of having to wait months for fiber installs, they could light up a new tower every 2-3 days by using Starlink as the initial back haul for new sites while waiting for the fiber installs to happen.

And going the "build it themselves" route by using the chapter 11 assets as the ultimate shortcut -- allowing them to literally go live by Q4 of this year, all while not dealing with regulator scrutiny (which those regulators would block any sale of the Big 3 carrier).


Why else would they have APPLIED for and gotten tech neutral waivers approved by the FCC that specifically allows them to BUILD a hybrid network with the spectrum they bought from Echostar?

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DrakoSwiftclaw
DrakoSwiftclaw
Arena Apprentice
• 1h ago

Another question we'd have to ask here on this. If SpaceX was shopping to buy up a carrier, why are the petitioning the FCC for tech neutral waivers for the upcoming upper C-Band auction?


That doesn't look like a play for a company shopping a carrier, but it does look like a play for a company that is shopping it's own build. (Which can be done with the Dish Wireless assets, which is compatible with the spectrum owned by SpaceX.)

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HulkBro666
HulkBro666
Arena Apprentice
• 1h ago

Quick-and-dirty moves to save face for investors, as well as not leave too big of a mess for the next guy.


There is no way the overlords would allow Verizon to be sold to anyone.


If anything, they'll let Verizon gobble up some small fry we aren't even aware of, if not push SpaceX to do so.

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