Michelle Donegan

Elon Musk's SpaceX is making moves to acquire more AWS-3 midband spectrum for Starlink's mobile satellite direct-to-device service and is getting closer to nationwide coverage in the US. In a recent Federal Communications Commission filing, SpaceX subsidiary Starlink Spectrum Holdings requested permission to transfer control of three unpaired AWS-3 licences in the 1695MHz–1710MHz band that are held by Tristar License Group.

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman produced a $1 billion dark fiber data center connectivity deal with Google on the carrier's second quarter earnings call to show how the carrier plans to tap into AI infrastructure expansion across the US for new growth. Schulman said the agreement marked the start of new revenue streams that are expected to kick in next year and will build on the carrier's turnaround that accelerated in Q2.

Verizon is ready to take network automation to the next level with agentic AI and is starting to see promising results from agents taking on some operational tasks. From its early learnings, the carrier urges the industry to focus on security, transparency, and, where it makes sense, a common framework for agentic network operations. The foundation for the carrier's automation capabilities is the on-premise Verizon Cloud Platform that hosts virtual and cloud-native network functions.

The Federal Communications Commission's AWS-3 spectrum auction got off to a sluggish start with low bidding activity for most markets and little sign so far of the speculation that SpaceX might shake up proceedings. Bidding opened on Tuesday, June 2. After the first three days and nine rounds so far, total bids reached $104 million. Out of the 200 licenses available, 39 received no offers. The early results will look disappointing, but perhaps not surprising because bidding typically picks up in later rounds.

SpaceX emerged as a possible bidder to acquire more AWS-3 spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission's upcoming auction, sparking further questions about its intent for Starlink Mobile direct-to-device services. First reported by Ookla analyst Mike Dano on LinkedIn, the FCC a

As Congress debates the reauthorization of the First Responder Network Authority, Verizon hopes to convince lawmakers that new legislation should enshrine competition and extend federal funding benefits to all public safety workers, not just AT&T customers. FirstNet's authorization expires in February 2027.

AT&T has demanded a federal court order to halt T-Mobile's new "Easy Switch" tool, claiming that it uses AI bots to unlawfully access and scrape customer data.