T-Mobile Sees No Room for SpaceX MVNO Deal

T-Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan said the carrier sees no room for a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) deal with SpaceX, while leaving open the possibility of reselling a complementary product. He made the remarks during T-Mobile’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call on October 28. An MVNO arrangement would allow SpaceX to sell wireless service using access to T-Mobile’s cellular network. Gopalan said such a deal would not open new markets, distribution channels or capabilities for T-Mobile. He said the company’s position applied to both consumer service and Physical and Edge AI. Gopalan distinguished that proposal from a resale agreement, which he said T-Mobile would consider for a complementary product. T-Mobile’s existing T-Satellite service, which uses SpaceX technology, is an example of that kind of arrangement. Gopalan said it accounts for 0.0002% of T-Mobile’s total network usage under normal conditions. In explaining the decision, Gopalan characterized satellite connectivity as inferior to fixed wireless access (FWA) outside some deep-rural areas. FWA delivers home internet over a cellular network. He cited constraints including satellite-beam capacity and said about...