SpaceX’s reported U.S. mobile-network costs cover very different scopes. Tower rent alone works out to about $4 billion a year if the company used 80,000 traditional tower sites at the estimated rate; Verizon CEO Daniel Schulman separately put an all-in buildout at $300 billion to $500 billion over six to seven years. Yahoo Finance reported on October 23, 2026, that no tower lease had been signed and talks remained far from a formal deal.
What the 80,000-site talks mean
Yahoo Finance reported, citing Bloomberg, that SpaceX was discussing access to at least 80,000 U.S. cell sites. That number describes a reported negotiation target. It does not describe installed network capacity. The October 23 account said no lease had been signed and the discussions remained far from a formal lease deal.
Tower rent and the broader buildout estimate
Goldman Sachs analysts estimated average annual rent of about $50,000 per cellular tenant at a tower. Applying that figure to 80,000 traditional towers gives about $4 billion a year: $50,000 × 80,000. Over five to ten years, that amounts to $20 billion to $40 billion in rent alone. The calculation assumes all 80,000 sites are traditional towers and excludes equipment, backhaul, operations and other network investment.
Schulman’s separate estimate was $300 billion to $500 billion in all-in costs over six to seven years, with a minimum four-to-six-year buildout assumption. It is his estimate, not a disclosed SpaceX budget. The rent calculation and Schulman’s estimate therefore describe different scopes and time periods.
| Cost measure | Amount and period | Scope and assumptions |
| Estimated rent per cellular tenant | About $50,000 per year | Goldman Sachs analysts’ estimate |
| Rent for 80,000 sites | About $4 billion per year | Assumes all sites are traditional towers |
| Rent over five to ten years | $20 billion to $40 billion | Rent only; excludes other network investment |
| All-in buildout estimate | $300 billion to $500 billion over six to seven years | Daniel Schulman’s estimate; minimum four-to-six-year buildout assumption |
Why cell-site access is only one part of the plan
The reported U.S. network concept combines Starlink satellites with low-band spectrum, ground antennas and cell sites. The plan also calls for backhaul, fiber, spectrum rights and radio access network capacity. Those additional requirements are why a site-access target alone does not describe the full buildout.
Musk and Schulman gave different timelines
Elon Musk put the buildout at two or three years. Schulman estimated a minimum of four to six years for the buildout, while his cost estimate spans six to seven years. These are attributed estimates, not a settled construction schedule.
