Drew FitzGerald

AT&T agreed to buy certain wireless spectrum licenses for about $23 billion in cash from EchoStar after pressure from federal regulators on the satellite-and-wireless company. The Federal Communications Commission recently told EchoStar that it would investigate the company’s compliance with federal requirements to build a nationwide 5G network.

America’s cable giants are being squeezed from all sides. Competition from wireless carriers is surging. Government subsidies are on hold. The onetime fortress of cable TV has all but crumbled. Those forces propelled the $21.9 billion deal Charter Communications struck to buy Cox Communications. A decade ago, broadband providers pursued big mergers to protect their ailing TV businesses.

Telecommunications mogul Charlie Ergen’s war chest is at risk after a U.S. regulator questioned his company’s use of cellular and satellite spectrum licenses—including a chunk of airwaves long sought by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Apple is clashing with Elon Musk in its push to eliminate cellphone dead spots with satellite technology. Apple is investing heavily in satellite-based communications that keep users connected in places where traditional wireless signals aren’t available. Musk’s SpaceX, meanwhile, has launched more than 550 satellites that provide cellphone connectivity via its Starlink service. To build capacity, the companies are competing for valuable spectrum rights—airwaves to carry their signals—which are in limited supply.

In mid-November 2024, Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr flew to Palm Beach (FL) to clinch his dream job. The telecommunications lawyer and longtime Federal Communications Commission official dropped by a reception at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and met the incoming president, who recognized Commissioner Carr and praised his work. Two days later, Trump named Carr to lead the agency.

Hackers linked to Chinese intelligence used precision strikes to quietly compromise cellphone lines used by an array of senior national security and policy officials across the U.S. government in addition to politicians. This access allowed them to scoop up call logs, unencrypted texts and some audio from potentially thousands of Americans and others with whom they interacted.

DirecTV agreed to buy Dish from owner EchoStar for a nominal $1, plus the assumption of roughly $9.8 billion in debt. That merger depends on an agreement with bondholders to write off about $1.6 billion of the Dish obligations as well as approval from multiple federal regulators. Merging Dish with DirecTV would bolster both brands’ profits as their customer bases erode. The deal would create the largest U.S.

Verizon is in advanced talks to acquire Frontier Communications in a deal that would bolster the company’s fiber network to compete with rivals including AT&T. A deal would be sizable, given Frontier’s market value of over $7 billion. The company, cobbled together by several deals over the years, provides broadband connections to about three million locations across 25 states. Verizon, the top cellphone carrier by subscribers, has faced increased pressure from competitors and from cable TV companies that offer discounted wireless service backed by Verizon’s own cellular network.

T-Mobile is sneaking into the cable industry’s backyard. The second-biggest cellphone carrier by subscribers has pieced together at least five partnerships with fiber-optic internet providers that could serve millions of customers in the coming years.

Two of the nation’s major telecommunications companies are feuding over a plan to boost service for police, firefighters and other state and local agencies—a move Verizon Communications says would amount to a $14 billion gift to rival AT&T.