Satellite

Satellite communications are connecting the world and delivering global access to information. While Geostationary orbit satellites have served a valuable connectivity mission for decades, low- and medium- Earth satellite constellations in non-Geostationary orbits offer new opportunities that complement existing services. Importantly: there’s plenty of room for all LEO, MEO, and GEO operators in today's satellite industry.

The three nationwide mobile network operators spent the Q1 2026 earnings cycle saying no to a Starlink MVNO. On May 12, the Federal Communications Commission approved SpaceX's purchase of 65 megahertz of nationwide Direct-to-Device spectrum under tech-neutral performance obligations. Four days later, the wireless carriers announced a satellite joint venture without a name and with a lot of intentions. The market has been reading the JV as a defensive moat against SpaceX. It is not.

On May 11th through 13th, SpaceX met with the offices of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Carr, FCC Commissioner Trusty, and FCC Commissioner Gomez, and with the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, to discuss reassessment of High-Cost programs in the context of satellite broadband services delivering broadband at competitive rates throughout the areas supported by High-Cost programs... The rapid growth of low-Earth orbit satellite broadband service in recent years has made high-speed, low-latency broadband access available throughout the entirety of the United States.

Starlink is raising prices across its satellite internet plans in the US—including Standby Mode—with the cheapest 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) Residential plan going from $50 to $55/month. Meanwhile, Starlink’s 200 Mbps residential plan has jumped from $80 to $85/month, while the Residential Max plan went from $120 to $130/month. Standby Mode, which allows subscribers to pause their main Starlink service while using unlimited low-speed data, now costs $10/month instead of $5.

What’s clear from the direct-to-device (D2D) joint venture announcement by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon is: not much. It certainly raises more questions than it answers. For example: Is this JV real if there’s no definitive agreement yet? How will SpaceX respond? Will the Department of Justice (DoJ) allow it? When does T-Mobile’s exclusivity agreement with SpaceX/Starlink expire? And how big is the D2D market going to be once Amazon Leo, AST SpaceMobile, and others join Starlink?

Some Ohio locations awarded to satellite internet service providers as part of a $42.45 billion grant program are obstructed by tree cover, a recent analysis found. Tom Reid, head of Reid Consulting, analyzed about 30,000 of the locations in Ohio that are set to receive service from SpaceX through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, and found as many as 70 percent were covered by tree canopy that would prevent the minimum 110-degree field of view the company’s dishes require. Depending on the coverage—satellite imagery showed 5 percent of the locations were completely cove

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency approved two transactions that will further secure U.S. leadership in wireless and next-generation technology, including emerging direct-to-device offerings. The two transactions—collectively surpassing $40 billion in deal value—will allow the private sector to light up a large swath of approximately 115 megahertz of underused mid-band spectrum for the benefit of the American people.

The United States is about to make a big bet on high-speed satellite internet that promises a new model for how space technology could digitally connect the most remote parts of the country—assuming it works. Clusters of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites have provided internet access in areas across the globe. But the technology is relatively new and unproven, even as it promises to bring high-speed internet to rural and isolated parts of the U.S.

Ookla Speedtest® data from the second half of 2025 indicates that Starlink dramatically  improved its download speed performance across all 50 states compared to the second half of 2024. In fact, Speedtest users on Starlink are now able to get median download speeds exceeding 100 Mbps in every state but Alaska. This is more than double the 23 states that recorded median download speeds exceeding 100 Mbps in the second half of 2024. In addition, Starlink also improved its download performance in the 25th percentile, or the bottom quarter of Speedtest users on Starlink.