Matt Daneman

SpaceX and T-Mobile's partnering on satellite-to-cellular service is the latest competition in what's becoming an increasingly crowded market, said satellite executives and industry watchers. SpaceX and T-Mobile announced plans Thursday for SpaceX coverage, using mid-band T-Mobile PCS spectrum, to provide voice and messaging service in parts of the U.S. and territorial waters not covered by T-Mobile's network. Some see SpaceX/T-Mobile raising regulatory issues.

The U.S. hopes its drive for international agreement on a direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) testing ban will be a springboard for crafting international norms for other space operations issues, said Eric Desautels, State Department acting deputy assistant secretary-arms control, verification and compliance, Wednesday. At a conference put on by Aerospace's Center for Space Policy and Strategy and George Washington University's Space Policy Institute. Desautels said the U.S. will try to direct U.N. discussions in coming months toward establishing norms on such issues as purposeful interference with satellite command and control and ASAT testing near other countries' satellites. The U.S. committed in April to not doing direct-ascent ASAT testing (see 2204190057).

The FCC's rejection of SpaceX's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction long-form application (see 2208100050) could show agency skepticism about the satellite operator's potential that could affect how the FCC decides on any opening of the 12 GHz band to 5G, we were told. SpaceX has been one of the chief proponents of keeping the band solely for satellite use. Some proceedings watchers and participants see RDOF as separate, not having ramifications for the pending 12 GHz proceeding. The FCC and SpaceX didn't comment.

ASPEN, Colo. -- NTIA won't repeat the mistakes made in past federal efforts to narrow the digital divide, said Evan Feinman, director of its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Tuesday at Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum. This time, he said, "we are going to solve this problem" and avoid the top-down approaches that missed unserved or underserved locations and didn't use ideal technology. But critics see danger signs.

ASPEN, Colo. -- Governments’ prioritization of data localization turns out to be a bad idea in times of crisis, with vital government data one of the early Russian targets in its invasion of Ukraine, tech security experts said Tuesday at the Technology Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum. A panel on Ukrainian connectivity focused repeatedly on the need for rebuilding the country's communications networks to use providers not controlled by authoritarian regimes. Ruth Berry, acting deputy assistant secretary, State Department's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, said there's wide agreement there's not enough diversity and resilience in the telecom network supply chain, which is why Open RAN is such an imperative.

ASPEN, Colo. -- It's "too early to tell" whether NTIA efforts aimed at better spectrum coordination among federal agencies are paying off, NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said Sunday at the Technology Policy Institute's annual Aspen Forum. He said improved coordination has White House backing and agencies "want to do better."

The FCC denying Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program funding for SpaceX's Starlink (see 2208100050) points to satellite operators needing to be able to prove their systems' scalability and reliability if they want to participate in future broadband subsidization programs, experts told us. SpaceX and the FCC didn't comment.

Localities' lawsuits seeking franchise fees from streaming services have faced challenges in federal court, but experts said they expect the legal fight to increasingly focus on state courts. In a Texas court, Dallas, Houston and other cities sued Disney, Hulu and Netflix last week, claiming the streamers ignored their video service provider obligations to get their state certificates of franchise authority and pay required franchise fees. The streamers didn't comment Thursday.

Increasing numbers of cable operators say they aren't seeing major residential broadband competition from fixed wireless access (FWA) providers. Some industry watchers are unconvinced.

Citing an increasingly shaky global economy, telecom, media and tech companies are starting to warn of softening ad markets, hiring slowdowns and reduced output. Questions about the economy are increasingly common in quarterly earnings calls, with numerous TMT companies being pressed by analysts in recent days. However, many say they don't foresee major difficulties.