IRIS² Finally Cut Checks, and the Biggest One Landed on the Ground
The first IRIS² industrial contracts are signed: OHB's €1B for 18 MEO platforms, HispaSat's €1.6B ground segment. Who gets paid, and what the order reveals.
India’s Regulator Says Yes to Satellite-to-Phone, If the Carriers Agree
TRAI’s 5 November recommendations would let satellites talk straight to ordinary phones on India’s mobile bands. Holders of the new satellite network license would not be the ones selling it.
Deep Dive: The Upper C-Band Plans Are In, and SES Is Carrying Almost All of Them
SES, Eutelsat and Telesat filed their Upper C-band transition plans. What each will build, move and spend to clear 4.0 to 4.16 GHz, and who pays.
Deep Dive: Telesat's Lenders Want to Be Paid in Full Through a Shareholder Rights Offering
Telesat GEO owes US$1.71 billion on 6 December. Its lenders proposed a rescue that repays that debt in full, about half of it from a shareholder rights offering.
Who Actually Pays for Satellite-to-Phone Service?
Starlink Mobile passed 22 million monthly users in September. What carriers pay SpaceX for them, what the service does, and how many people one satellite beam can serve.
What Broadcasters, Cable and SES Told the FCC About Upper C-Band Costs
Eight comments on the FCC's draft upper C-band Cost Catalog. SES and cable and broadcast groups say it prices feeds, receivers and satellites too low.
Deep Dive: Satellite-to-Phone Operators Will Still Need Carriers, But on Cheaper Terms
The FCC's draft keeps carrier consent for satellite-to-phone but replaces leases with coexistence deals. What it means for SpaceX, AST and the carriers.
The Satellite Deal Tracker
Pending satellite deals and spectrum transfers, with value, status and next gate, plus the FCC deadlines coming up. Refreshed weekly for paid members, status as of 9 November 2026.
What Ukraine's Starshield Speed Limit Tells Commercial Starlink Customers
Terminals used by Ukraine's forces lost their link above 100 mph, and who ordered it is still disputed. What that shows a business buyer about who sets a terminal's limits.
Deep Dive: Starcloud's Orbital Data Center Math Needs a $30 per Kilogram Launch
Starcloud's white paper puts a data center in space at one twentieth of the cost of one on the ground. Rerun with 2026 launch prices and spacecraft mass, the same arithmetic gives roughly two to four times more.
Deep Dive: SpaceX's Carrier Playbook Meets Europe's 2 GHz Rules
SpaceX bought its way to US carrier status. In Europe, the 2 GHz MSS rules reserve two of three blocks for EU operators and freeze incumbents' rights during the bridge.
SpaceX's 800 MHz Deal Is a Tower Deal
SpaceX's Grain spectrum will run on towers and rooftops, not satellites. Why that makes American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA the deal's early winners.
The Delta and Starlink Fight Is About Who Holds the Passenger's Login
Musk says Delta wanted a portal. Delta says the portal was never the problem. Why the loyalty login, not the satellite, decides airline Wi-Fi awards.