Wireless Internet

Of all the analyses coming out ahead of SpaceX’s big initial public offering, one in particular stands out. First, some background. All three of the big mobile network operators in the U.S. have said “no” to an MVNO deal with Starlink, SpaceX’s most profitable unit.

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.

There are thousands of billionaires across the world. But there is only one trillionaire. Elon Musk became the first person to amass a personal fortune of over $1,000,000,000,000—that’s 12 zeros—after shares of his rocket company SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange on June 12.

A fast-expanding cloud of space waste is turning the Earth’s atmosphere into a chemistry lab. As SpaceX prepares to go public, investors are pondering the practicalities of Elon Musk’s multiplanetary vision.

Here are just some of the issues that the Federal Communications Commission’s staff have been working on to ensure a safe and successful World Cup:

Louisiana has signed a grant agreement with SpaceX’s Starlink to expand broadband access through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, marking another major step toward achieving universal access. This agreement allows construction to begin on projects that will deliver access to 10,635 locations by the end of the summer. The project covers locations in over 50 parishes statewide, moving Louisiana closer to full coverage while advancing the state’s commitment to using taxpayer dollars effectively to deliver results.

In May, Verizon’s new CEO Dan Schulman spoke at a MoffettNathanson conference, and one thing he said stunned me.

Appearing at the Mizuho Technology Conference in New York, AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches was asked about what some may call the “elephant in the room,” i.e., SpaceX’s increasingly aggressive moves to chip away at the broadband market. His answer? Between fiber, cable, fixed wireless, and the wireless infrastructure that exists in the U.S., that probably covers 99 percent of the population, but there’s 1 percent of the population that’s not covered today in very rural areas.

Days after the U.S. presidential election in November 2024, then-Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr posted a photo of himself with Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump at a SpaceX rocket launch. “A historic day at Starbase,” Commissioner Carr wrote in the post, referring to the Texas headquarters of Mr. Musk’s rocket and satellite company. “Another giant leap forward.” Around the same time, Mr. Musk recommended Commissioner Carr to President Trump as an ideal leader for the agency.

Broadband competition in the United States has entered a new phase: one defined less by who has coverage and more by who can keep customers. For cable operators, that shift has arrived faster than expected. The Broadband in America Report series tracks nationwide trends in broadband coverage, cost, competition, and funding across all network technologies. This edition explores the latest trends in cable broadband across the United States, examining how the market has evolved under growing competitive pressure from fixed wireless access, fiber and adjacent telecom platforms.