SpaceX is in talks with EchoStar about a potential acquisition of the company's Boost Mobile network.

The Washington Post reported that SpaceX founder Elon Musk has held talks with EchoStar CEO Charlie Ergen that could lead to SpaceX launching its own wireless service in the U.S. as the company looks to expand its Starlink Mobile offering.

Attempts by SpaceX to sweeten major carriers AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile US have fallen short for Musk, with the carriers rebuffing SpaceX's advances. While wireless agreements haven't materialized with the major operators, a possible option could be via EchoStar's Boost subsidiary.

SpaceX snapped up $17 billion worth of AWS-4 and H-block spectrum from EchoStar last year, as EchoStar sold off vast amounts of its spectrum holdings, including a separate $23 billion sale of spectrum to AT&T. The latter deal sees Boost Mobile provide cellular coverage via AT&T's mobile network as Boost's primary partner, though it also leases parts of its network access from T-Mobile US.

The Washington Post report notesthat SpaceX could acquire Boost Mobile or strike a deal to gain access to its network, which could be the way in for SpaceX to challenge the carriers.

The report comes hot off the heels of Musk and SpaceX declaring their intention to launch a mobile carrier service in the U.S.

SpaceX has actively held talks to gain access to 80,000 cell sites across the U.S. to support the company's ambitions to offer carrier services, with tower company Crown Castle identified as one of those infrastructure firms.

During SpaceX's own earnings call last month, Musk outlined the company's plans to build out a competitive carrier network.

"We will also have direct-to-sell, high-bandwidth direct-to-sell capability, and we will be building out our terrestrial network," Musk said. "So there's broad-based connectivity anywhere that Starlink is allowed to operate. So anywhere in the world that we're allowed to operate."

Musk added that satellite launches and spectrum acquisitions will "pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the U.S."

Boost Mobile is estimated to have around seven million customers in the U.S. The company was founded in 2000 by Peter Adderton, now of MobileX, before it was sold to Nextel in 2003. The company has been owned by EchoStar since 2023.