Mike Dano

Just a few years ago, the idea that a smartphone could connect to a satellite seemed more science fiction than technological possibility. But now, such connections are not only possible, they’re popping up in a growing number of locations around the world. This development has significant implications for cellular network providers, telecommunications regulators, cell tower operators, and equipment vendors—not to mention mobile users themselves. After all, D2D technology ultimately promises to eliminate outdoor cellular dead zones globally. However, D2D technology is still maturing.

Since 2019, SpaceX has launched a total of 10,790 Starlink satellites, helping it to gain a total of 9.2 million satellite internet customers. Starlink’s success in consumer-focused satellite internet services is clearly visible in Speedtest data. The company accounted for 97.1% of all global satellite Speedtest samples in the third quarter of 2025. Viasat came in a distant second with 1.7%. HughesNet was third globally with 1.0%. Speedtest data also provides a view into where Starlink’s customers are located.

T-Mobile first announced its satellite plans with partner SpaceX in August 2022, just before Apple unveiled its own satellite partnership with Globalstar. Fast forward to 2025, and T-Mobile officially launched its satellite texting service with SpaceX on July 23.

Starlink uses around 8,000 low Earth orbit satellites to provide Internet connections to roughly 7 million customers around the world. But a recent event in the desert of Nevada collected enough Starlink users in one place to create a measurable effect on the company’s network in the region. Starlink satellite Internet connections have become increasingly popular at the Burning Man desert arts festival, a nine-day event that occurs annually. The festival attracted around 70,000 attendees.

EchoStar said it has made multiple attempts to set up a meeting between company executives and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr. "All of these requests ... have gone unanswered," the company said. According to one analyst, that's not a good sign.

In a Federal Communications Commission filing, NextWave said T-Mobile is "disobeying the rule of law" and that its statements are "insurrectionist." NextWave argued that T-Mobile's position on network interference is "a wild assertion that would undermine the FCC's licensing regime and render 2.5GHz and other spectrum licenses worthless." At issue is the 2.5GHz midband spectrum that sits at the heart of T-Mobile's 5G network.

Verizon is officially asking for a waiver of the Federal Communications Commission's phone unlocking requirements. Verizon faces phone unlocking requirements stemming from its acquisition of 700MHz spectrum in 2008, and also from conditions the FCC placed on the operator's 

Fixed wireless access continues to gobble up the vast majority of growth in the US broadband industry. But that trajectory can't last forever. In the first quarter of 2025, the financial analysts at Bernstein calculated that fiber operators in the US collectively gained around 652,000 total customers. But FWA providers (mainly T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T) collectively edged them out with a total of 703,000 net customer additions during the period.

SpaceX recently ratcheted up its rhetoric against EchoStar and the 5G network it operates under the Boost Mobile brand. In a new Federal Communications Commission filing, SpaceX alleges that the 5G network built by EchoStar's Dish Network in some cases operates at power levels that are at just 1 to 5 percent of what would be expected, as compared to operations by its rivals.

An ostensible goal of the Trump administration is to use the threat of tariffs to encourage companies to build their products in the US. Some companies in the telecommunications industry have said they do plan to expand their US-based operations.