Network management

Starlink has threatened to shun Australia's satellite mobile market if it is forced into a spectrum auction.

I commend the House of Representatives for passing legislation to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority, or FirstNet, including critical reforms that will strengthen the network for the benefit of our nation’s first responders.

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.

America’s publicly funded emergency-communications network has sometimes failed during the exact disasters it was built to endure, prompting a bipartisan push for tighter oversight. During a 2024 nationwide network outage for AT&T, which operates the FirstNet service, ambulance crews couldn’t transmit electronic medical records to hospitals.

A panel at the Competitive Carriers Association show spoke to small, regional wireless carriers about their use of automation and AI, and perhaps the most interesting question was: “If you had one piece of advice to give to a competitive carrier just starting on their automation journey, what would that be?” Prajith Dhanapalan is head of Solutions and Private Networks at Xius, a company that provides wireless core technology.

It is now five years since Starlink first began to offer commercial service and we are only now starting to see its ability to disrupt the telecom business. Unsurprisingly, it is the legacy GEO and MEO operators that have been the first to feel the impact, facing a competitor with vastly different service capabilities and cost points.

Cliff Steinberg’s family owns a busy street corner building in the SoHo district of Manhattan. The first floor is home to the Grand Street Social restaurant, with various commercial tenants on other levels of the five-story building. About four years ago, he was approached about using the building to house Dish’s 5G antennas.

Amazon and Globalstar announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire Globalstar, enabling Amazon Leo to add direct-to-device services to its low Earth orbit satellite network and extend cellular coverage to customers beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. In addition, Amazon and Apple announced an agreement for Amazon Leo to power satellite services for iPhone and Apple Watch, including Emergency SOS via satellite.

I was looking through the Federal Communications Commission cellular map in Buncombe County (NC), where I live. For those not fully familiar with the FCC broadband maps, the agency publishes two maps: the more familiar one that shows broadband coverage and a second that shows cellular coverage. You can toggle between the two maps at the FCC’s map website. It struck me while looking at the details in the maps that rural cellular coverage is changing, and not in a good way.

U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick partnered with AT&T to secure an additional $2 billion in value to benefit public safety under the First Responder Network Authority Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network contract. The deal is the result of a collaborative process to deliver greater benefits to public safety users who rely on FirstNet and better value for taxpayers. Specifically, as part of the deal, AT&T will: