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

The Washington Post reports that SpaceX founder Elon Musk has held talks with EchoStar's Charlie Ergen that could lead to SpaceX launching its own wireless service in the US, as the company looks to expand its Starlink Mobile offering.

Attempts to sweeten the major carriers, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, 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 $23bn 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 from T-Mobile.

This could be the way in for SpaceX to challenge the carriers, reports the Washington Post, which notes that SpaceX could acquire Boost Mobile or strike a deal to gain access to its network.

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

SpaceX has actively held talks to gain access to 80,000 cell sites across the US 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," said Musk. "So there's broad-based connectivity anywhere that Starlink is allowed to operate. So anywhere in the world that we're allowed to operate.

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

Boost Mobile is estimated to have around seven million customers in the US. 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.