Monica Alleven

For the most part, CTIA is happy about the spectrum provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Trump signed on July 4. The OBBBA calls for freeing up 800 megahertz of spectrum for commercial use over the next decade. To kick things off, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on a proposal that seeks comments on how to auction at least 100 megahertz—and possibly up to 180 megahertz—of spectrum in the 3.98-4.2 GHz band, aka the upper C-band.

AT&T CEO John Stankey wasn’t kidding when he said AT&T would use the 3.45 GHz spectrum from EchoStar to cover nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population by mid-November. The operator announced it rolled out the 3.45 GHz spectrum to nearly 23,000 cell sites in a matter of a few weeks—a record-fast deployment for AT&T.

SpaceX is acquiring EchoStar’s AWS-3 licenses for about $2.6 billion in SpaceX stock. This is on top of the 2 GHz/AWS-4 spectrum that SpaceX agreed to buy from EchoStar for $17 billion in September. That spectrum is geared for mobile satellite services, whereas the AWS-3 spectrum is designated for terrestrial use. So far, SpaceX hasn’t said what it plans to do with the AWS-3 spectrum licenses, and the sale still must pass regulatory approvals.

MobileX CEO Peter Adderton is challenging carrier CEOs in the wireless industry to step up and help people who are losing federal food assistance due to the lapse in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. MobileX announced that it will cover the cost of its wireless service for customers—new and existing—who have lost access to

What Gigs is doing looks a lot like a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) because the company enables what we’ve come to know as MVNOs, or mobile virtual network operators that use the facilities-based carriers’ networks to deliver mobile service under their own brands (think SmartLess Wireless or Trump Mobile). But Gigs doesn’t want to be called an MVNE because

SpaceX is asking the Federal Communications Commission for the authority to launch a new constellation of up to 15,000 satellites to provide direct-to-cell services to consumers on the ground. The company recently filed a request with the FCC for the additional satellites, which will use 2 GHz spectrum it’s acquiring from EchoStar.

Convergence isn’t just a buzzword for big wireless carriers. It’s also on the minds of smaller operators that will be convening in San Antonio (TX), for the Competitive Carriers Association annual convention. In fact, “pure play” wireless operators are pretty much a thing of the past. T-Mobile—CCA’s largest carrier member—ended years of being a “pure play” wireless carrier when it started making moves to build out its fiber footprint.

SpaceX recently inked a deal with EchoStar to buy $17 billion worth of AWS-4 and H-block spectrum to connect cell phones directly to satellites. Conveniently (for us), Musk appeared at the All-In Summit, which featured other business leaders like Mark Cuban, that took place in Los Angeles this week.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr notified EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen that the agency is ending its investigation into EchoStar’s 5G buildout and use of terrestrial and Mobile Satellite Services AWS-4 spectrum.

EchoStar is just one of many satellite companies battling SpaceX over spectrum. In various proceedings at the Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX has clashed with Globalstar, Ligado and Viasat in addition to its well-publicized fight to get hold of EchoStar’s 2 GHz/AWS-4 spectrum.