Weekly Real Estate News
SpaceX is in talks with cellular infrastructure owners to secure access to at least 80,000 sites across the United States, according to an October 22 Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the discussions.
Reuters reported that Crown Castle was among the companies involved in talks. Crown Castle, American Tower and Vertical Bridge are major owners of U.S. cellular infrastructure, with publicly traded tower landlords potentially positioned to benefit from additional tenants.
Why the negotiations matter for real estate investors
The reported 80,000 sites represent about half of the 158,500 purpose-built cellular towers counted nationwide by the Wireless Infrastructure Association. A new national wireless network could create leasing demand for existing towers and related sites.
TD Cowen analysts estimate that a nationwide terrestrial wireless network could require more than $80 billion of investment over multiple years. That is an analyst estimate, not a SpaceX spending commitment.
No completed tower-leasing agreement, binding site count, lease pricing or launch timetable has been announced. The October 22 report concerns negotiations, not an executed transaction.
