Verizon CEO Dan Schulman, speaking on the company's third-quarter earnings call, expressed openness to collaborations with satellite providers like Elon Musk's Starlink. However, he firmly ruled out a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement. Schulman stated there is "no benefit whatsoever to extending an MVNO deal to any satellite provider."
Schulman acknowledged Starlink's potential as a future competitor but downplayed any immediate threat. He estimated Starlink would need to build a substantial terrestrial network of around 80,000 cell sites to compete effectively in the U.S. mobile market. This process, he projected, would take four to six years. The estimated cost for this network ranges between $300 billion and $500 billion. Schulman emphasized that satellite-based services cannot effectively compete in urban and suburban areas without such a network. These areas constitute the majority of Verizon's revenue.