Tag: Direct-to-Device
-
FCC Clears Amazon’s $11.5 Billion Globalstar Acquisition, Opening Path to Satellite Phone Service
Amazon Leo is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite network, formerly known internally as Project Kuiper before the company adopted the permanent brand name in November 2025. The system is designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband internet and data services to residential, business, and government customers in areas where terrestrial networks are limited, unreliable, or nonexistent.…
-
SpaceX Acquires Grain Management’s 800 MHz Spectrum Portfolio to Launch Standalone Starlink Mobile Carrier
On October 8, 2026, satellite network operator SpaceX announced a definitive agreement to acquire the nationwide 800 MHz low-band spectrum portfolio held by digital infrastructure investment firm Grain Management. The acquisition equips SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile division with up to 14 MHz of paired terrestrial low-band airwaves across the United States. By securing proprietary low-band spectrum…
-
US and Japan Elevate AST SpaceMobile, Rakuten Satellite Network to Sovereign Infrastructure Status
The designation follows bilateral discussions in Kyoto on October 4, 2026, between Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Toshiharu Furukawa, Japan’s Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy. The U.S. Department of State issued a joint protocol on October 5 formalizing the inclusion of the AST…
-
China Sets 2030 Targets for Next-Generation Communications and Low-Earth-Orbit Satellite Internet
China will accelerate construction of low-Earth-orbit satellite internet systems and integrate satellite networks more closely with terrestrial communications infrastructure under its 15th Five-Year Plan, including the development of direct-to-device satellite services and satellite Internet of Things applications. The space-based network will form part of a wider program to establish a high-performance national communications system by…
-
FCC Sees More Than $100 Billion From Spectrum Auctions Through 2028
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said September 16 that a series of U.S. spectrum auctions planned over the next two years could generate more than $100 billion, as the agency prepares to release additional frequencies for terrestrial wireless networks, space-based broadband and future 6G services. The estimate covers a multi-year auction program beginning with…
-
Elveo Selects Apex to Establish Production for 320-Satellite D2D Network
Elveo Mobile has selected Apex to help establish a dedicated U.S. factory for its planned 320-satellite low-Earth-orbit direct-to-device constellation, the companies announced September 14. The partnership will use Apex’s Factory X model to transfer spacecraft-platform technology and high-rate manufacturing expertise to an Elveo-controlled production operation. Under the agreement, Apex will supply productized spacecraft platforms and…
-
MDA Space Introduces Aurora Black Satellite Platform for Secure Military Communications
MDA Space introduced MDA Aurora Black on September 10, 2026, extending its software-defined Aurora satellite product line into the defence market with anti-jamming, GPS spoofing resistance and proximity-monitoring capabilities intended to protect military communications in contested environments. The defence-focused configuration is available across MDA Space’s Aurora broadband and direct-to-device product lines. It combines the existing…
-
China’s New Communications Plan Elevates Satellite Networks in the 6G Roadmap
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has called for deeper integration between satellite networks and terrestrial communications systems, including satellite-to-phone connectivity, satellite Internet of Things services and the coordinated development of an integrated space network. The requirements are part of China’s Information and Communications Industry Development Plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, issued…
-
Europe’s Largest Mobile Operators Explore Joint Bid for EU Direct-to-Device Spectrum
Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone are in preliminary talks to form a consortium that would bid for part of the European Union’s 2 GHz mobile satellite spectrum, potentially creating a European-controlled direct-to-device service to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink and other non-European satellite operators. The discussions were reported on September 7 and remain at an…
-
4iG and SpaceX Sign Agreements for Starlink Mobile and Sovereign Satellite Services in Europe
Hungarian telecommunications and defense group 4iG has signed two agreements with SpaceX covering direct-to-device mobile connectivity and secure sovereign satellite communications, establishing a framework for deploying Starlink services across Hungary and parts of the Western Balkans. The agreements were signed in Texas on September 2, 2026, by 4iG Chairman and CEO Gellért Jászai and SpaceX…