Crown Castle Inc (NYSE:CCI) shares are popping Friday along with other wireless tower and infrastructure stocks after SpaceX struck a deal to buy a nationwide block of wireless spectrum.
- Crown Castle shares are climbing with conviction. Why are CCI shares rallying?
CCI Rises After SpaceX Agrees to Buy Grain Management’s 800 MHz Spectrum
Wireless tower and infrastructure stocks are trading higher after SpaceX Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX) said Thursday that it agreed to buy Grain Management’s 800 MHz spectrum holdings, which cover the entire country. The companies kept the price and other financial terms private. The purchase may push SpaceX to invest more in terrestrial connectivity systems.
The 800 MHz band sits in the low-band range. Those signals carry over long distances and pass through building walls, which helps SpaceX solve a big technical problem as it grows its Starlink Mobile service. Even so, satellites by themselves may fall short against the established wireless carriers.
Why SpaceX’s Spectrum Deal Could Benefit Crown Castle
Crown Castle makes money by renting space on its towers to wireless carriers, and American Tower and SBA Communications follow the same model. Building a mobile network that covers the country could take thousands of ground-based transmission sites. That need creates a possible opening for companies that already own towers.
Suppose SpaceX builds its own network on the ground. It could then join Crown Castle’s customer list as one more tenant paying rent on existing towers. Crown Castle would collect added rental revenue without having to construct new infrastructure at every site. That prospect is what has investors excited about the group.
CCI Shares Are Surging
CCI Price Action: Crown Castle shares were up 12.95% at $77.82 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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