September 2025

SpaceX, the company that owns the Starlink satellite network, agreed to acquire wireless spectrum from EchoStar for about $17 billion in cash and stock. SpaceX is buying EchoStar’s AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses, and will pay as much as $8.5 billion in cash and up to $8.5 billion in SpaceX stock. EchoStar will use proceeds from the deal to retire some of its debt, as well as fund its continued operations and growth initiatives.

Jay Stanley is the resident futurist at the American Civil Liberties Union. Asked what technology he thinks is overhyped, he said, "Obviously, the big question today is whether large language models and generative AI are overhyped. It’s certainly overhyped in the sense that it’s being deployed where it’s really not ready for prime time. Because it hasn’t been fully vetted in terms of its fairness, effectiveness and bias, it’s being used to replace humans in ways that degrade services for people. It makes decisions about human beings that have consequences for their lives.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced that 36 out of 56 states and territories have submitted Final Proposals that outline how they will use Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding to close broadband gaps and connect all Americans to high-speed internet.