Headline is self explanatory.

Article with full context: https://telesintese.com.br/anatel-libera-1515-mhz-a-starlink-para-conexao-direta-a-celulares/

Starlink's tweet: https://x.com/Starlink/status/2108676180467724397

My tweet: https://x.com/Defiantclient2/status/2108682144386261364

Full article pasted below, with my own bolds for emphasis.

https://archive.is/20260826040411/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/2degrees-ast-spacemobile-open-ground-station-paving-the-way-for-full-satellite-to-mobile-service/premium/7ZPT7RCSMJFLNPF7XG7RMVP3YI/#selection-5721.0-5759.67

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network has competition on the way, and New Zealand will be among the first countries to see it, thanks to a ground station near Palmerston North, officially opened today with local partner 2degrees.

AST SpaceMobile, initially bankrolled by Google, Samsung and other big tech names, and... now Nasdaq-listed, has 13 of its supersized satellites in orbit.

It needs 45 to begin commercial satellite service with 2degrees and 60 other partner telcos around the world.

It’s aiming to hit that mark by the middle of next year.

The dishes on the Marton ground station are already operational. It was built on land leased in the middle of a farm owned by the Whale family, with its four satellites, and two more pending, surrounded by sheep.

2degrees chief executive Mark Callander says local customer testing will begin shortly.

He’s already used the satellite service to make voice and video calls from his stock-standard smartphone (see video above).

As with SpaceX-owned Starlink and pending competitor Amazon Leo, AST SpaceMobile’s satellites will act as “cell towers in the sky”, allowing partners like 2degrees to offer coverage in “blackspots” outside their terrestrial mobile networks, or where cell towers have been taken out by a natural disaster.

There’s also a key difference from Starlink. AST says its satellites’ tennis court-sized arrays – with solar panels on one side and 4G and 5G antennas on the other – are powerful enough, by dint of their size, to penetrate roofs. AST staff on hand for today’s opening confirmed that capability.

For some analysts, that sort of capability has raised questions about the future of terrestrial telcos, although there are some practical and political hurdles on that front (more on which shortly).

For Callander, AST’s extra grunt means he can promise full-blooded voice, text and data from day one of 2degrees’ satellite-to-mobile service.

One NZ’s satellite-to-mobile service was text-only when it launched with Starlink in December 2024.

Even today, One NZ (and Spark, which has now joined it in the Starlink camp) are restricted to “lite” versions of WhatsApp and other apps.

While Starlink has more than 10,000 satellites in orbit, only 600 or so are its larger, second-generation model capable of supporting satellite-to-mobile data.

AST had demonstrated satellite-to-mobile speeds of close to 100 megabits per second with its “Block 1” BlueBirds – that is, close to the download speed of ultra-fast broadband (UFB) fibre when it was first launched in New Zealand – and has promised twice that for its new “Block 2” satellites.

Starlink’s satellite-to-cell service offers a modest seven to 17Mbps (megabits per second) – which is why One NZ, Spark and other telcos have had to restrict their customers to special stripped-back or “lite” versions of popular apps.

Ground stations are used to connect satellites to the terrestrial internet. AST says it carries out all processing at its ground stations and none on its satellites, which it frames as a performance point of difference from the competition.

Today, Starlink (and soon AST and Amazon’s Leo) is nibbling around the edges of traditional telcos’ business, offering a complementary service to help them fill mobile blackspots, and to provide service for remote rural customers who are otherwise uneconomic to service.

But it’s an increasingly large nibble. Starlink last year passed Spark to become New Zealand’s largest rural internet provider as it grew from 53,000 to 85,000 local customers (and here we’re talking about Starlink’s dish-in-your-roof broadband service for homes and small businesses).

City-fringe customers are buying Starlink. You can buy its dishes at a Bunnings in suburban Westgate.

Is Callander worried that Elon Musk – who has talked about launching up to one million satellites and launching terrestrial cell sites in the United States for a Starlink-branded mobile service – has plans to consume the whole industry?

“Satellite will not eat the lunch of New Zealand’s local networks,” Callander said.

“It is complementary technology, not a replacement for fibre and mobile. Our terrestrial networks will remain the backbone of connectivity for decades to come, providing the speed, capacity and coverage New Zealanders rely on every day.

“Satellite adds a valuable new layer to that mix, particularly by extending connectivity into remote areas and strengthening resilience when terrestrial services are unavailable.”

Some analysts – including Harbour Asset Management’s Shane Solly – see the threat of Starlink eating telcos’ lunch as a key reason that many telcos worldwide, including Spark, have had depressed share prices over the past year.

But a key component for local mobile service is radio spectrum, which is owned by Governments around the world. Telcos can only lease it.

Prompted by the Herald to comment on the “satellites cutting your lunch” threat, Spark chief executive Jolie Hodson said our Government needed to consider sovereignty and resilience issues as it divvied up spectrum (which is sometimes auctioned to eligible parties, and sometimes directly allocated).

Callander struck a similar note.

“[Satellite-to-mobile’s] role will grow and become increasingly important, but the future is satellite working alongside fibre, 5G and, in time, 6G, not displacing them,” the 2degrees boss told the Herald.

“It is also important to consider who owns, controls and operates critical communications infrastructure.

“New Zealand has established regulatory and legislative safeguards to protect national interests, data security and consumer privacy, and maintaining those protections will remain important as new technologies emerge.

“As with any rapidly evolving technology, it is sensible to assess claims about future capabilities carefully and on the basis of evidence rather than rhetoric.”

Technology Users Association of New Zealand chief executive Craig Young, who was on hand for today’s opening, told the Herald: “I’m glad to see them offering another service as well, because obviously that brings more competition to the mobile market and also reduces our reliance on one particular network.”

(Like everyone at the event, Young avoided mentioning Starlink or its founder by name.)

Young recently complained that many rural Kiwis had no choice but to lump Starlink’s recent round of price increases in the run-up to its parent company SpaceX’s IPO (initial public offering).

Young has, however, voiced concern about the impact of the satellite multinationals on the network of small provincial and rural wireless internet providers, or wisps, some of which have struggled or gone out of business lately.

Space and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith, who officially opened the ground station, said it would help boost competition and help with New Zealand’s disaster resilience.

Goldsmith also highlighted the ground station and 2degrees as an example of “privately funded infrastructure” filling service gaps.

It was another indication that the minister is unlikely to back Chorus’ proposal for a multibillion-dollar public-private partnership to boost rural coverage.

2degrees – by dint of inheriting Vocus NZ’s network infrastructure business when it merged with Orcon – has its hands in several ground station pies, including a controversial facility it’s constructing for Starlink in central Auckland.

But the company says the Marton ground station is for AST only. Expansion is being considered.

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.

Paywall removed: https://archive.ph/Dn0nh#selection-1193.0-1193.61

By Kelcee Griffis, Michelle F Davis, and Reshmi Basu

August 20, 2026 at 11:09 PM UTC

SpaceX and AST Spacemobile Inc. are among the companies that have expressed interest in acquiring a swath of spectrum held by Grain Management LLC that’s valuable for providing wireless phone services directly from space, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The 800 MHz-band licenses became available after Grain completed a spectrum swap this month with T-Mobile US Inc. The terms of that transaction, approved by the Federal Communications Commission, call for Grain to seek bids to develop the spectrum, which has been underutilized, according to the commission’s order. The commission has said it wants the bidding done by Nov. 5.

Grain, a Washington-based technology and communications investment firm, has asked interested parties to submit preliminary offers by the first week of September, some of the people said, asking to not be identified because the discussions are private. Grain hopes to reap about $6 billion from selling the licenses, one of the people said, although the company’s plans could also involve leasing the capacity. It’s possible another bidder could emerge.

Representatives for SpaceX, AST and Grain didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The licenses cover nearly the entire US population, and they’re seen as valuable for helping satellite providers establish a ground-based link for voice services, known as a network pilot. Grain is confident that satellite and terrestrial services can co-exist in the 800 MHz band even though it’s previously only been used for ground-based mobile services, one of the people said.

The FCC said it wants to promote the growth of a new generation of satellite-based telecom networks that can fill gaps in land-based coverage and continue US leadership in the space-based communications industry. The commission created incentives for Grain to work with companies like AST and SpaceX, although the investment firm can also offer the spectrum to mobile phone companies, utilities and other providers, according to the order.

T-Mobile inherited the 800 MHz band when it combined with Sprint Corp. in 2020, but it never utilized the licenses. T-Mobile’s original plan was to sell the spectrum to Dish Network Corp. when it was tasked with standing up a fourth nationwide wireless carrier, but Dish ultimately declined to purchase the licenses. The FCC earlier approved an arrangement under which T-Mobile traded the spectrum to Grain for a set of 600 MHz licenses and a $2.9 billion cash payment.

— With assistance from Edward Ludlow and Sana Pashankar

I think AST has the T-Mobile DA in the bag.

T-Mobile Appoints Chris Sambar Chief Enterprise Officer and Evolves Leadership Team to Advance its Next Era of Strategic Growth and Innovation

André Almeida Named Chief Marketing, Brand and Broadband Officer as T-Mobile Continues Redefining Consumer Wireless and Supercharges Fast-Growing Broadband Business

Leadership Team Evolution Positions T-Mobile to Accelerate Expansion in New and Emerging Growth Opportunities, Innovate to Build Next-Generation Networks Powered by AI and 6G, and Strengthen Differentiation for Customers

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--T‑Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) today announced that wireless industry veteran Chris Sambar will join the company as Chief Enterprise Officer, effective no later than October 14, 2026. Mr. Sambar will report to T-Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan and will lead T-Mobile’s fast-growing SMB, enterprise and government businesses while scaling the company’s emerging growth opportunities.

Mr. Sambar joins from Public Storage, where he is Chief Operating Officer. He previously spent two decades at AT&T where his accomplishments included building the company’s 5G mobile network, developing corporate strategy and leading enterprise sales, including the design and deployment of the FirstNet public safety network. With the appointment of Mr. Sambar, T-Mobile evolves its executive leadership team to further align with and advance the key strategic priorities that will drive the Un-carrier’s continued growth, innovation and disruption.

Consistent with the strategic priorities outlined in its February 2026 Capital Markets Update, T-Mobile’s next era will be powered by a relentless commitment to continue redefining consumer wireless, accelerating growth in new businesses expanding beyond core wireless, the expansion of America’s Best Network with innovative technology to transform customer experiences, and an unwavering focus on strengthening the Un-carrier spirit built on challenging the status quo.

T-Mobile also announced that André Almeida, currently Chief Broadband, Enterprise & Emerging Business Officer, is appointed to an expanded position as Chief Marketing, Brand & Broadband Officer. In this role, Mr. Almeida will partner with Chief Operating Officer Jon Freier to oversee T-Mobile’s consumer wireless and broadband businesses, focusing on capturing new growth segments and continuing to win with customers. T-Mobile’s network, technology, product engineering and cyber will be integrated under the leadership of Dr. John Saw, Chief Technology Officer, positioning the company to advance seamless connected experiences for consumers and build the next generation of AI and 6G experiences.

“Chris is a seasoned wireless industry leader with proven experience including expanding high-growth businesses and seizing market opportunities. He’s a terrific addition to T-Mobile’s leadership team,” said Srini Gopalan, CEO of T-Mobile. “I am also thrilled that André is stepping into his new role, as he has been instrumental in building several of our fastest-growing businesses. With these appointments, I am confident T-Mobile’s leadership team has the speed, focus and expertise to shape the next generation of our industry as we continue to innovate and disrupt with a truly differentiated offering for our customers.”

Leading T-Mobile’s enterprise and government businesses, Mr. Sambar will focus on expanding the company’s SMB and business customer portfolio and will help scale emerging growth opportunities such as T-Ads and Physical AI. The appointment of Mr. Sambar will advance T-Mobile’s strategy to disrupt and strengthen its presence in industries beyond core wireless, while redefining customer experiences in the enterprise market with the same spirit and focus that built T-Mobile’s position as the industry’s leader in wireless customer growth. Mr. Sambar brings extensive experience in scaling new business segments, with a track record of designing, engineering and operating next-generation mobile and fiber networks, including from his tenure as President, Network of AT&T. He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He served more than 20 years in the U.S. Navy, including seven years on active duty.

“I am honored to join T-Mobile’s exceptional leadership team at a time when the company is redefining the industry through bold innovation,” said Mr. Sambar. “T-Mobile’s relentless customer-first spirit is exactly what I believe will define the next generation of business technology and connectivity, and I look forward to helping unlock new growth opportunities while building on the company’s pioneering legacy and track record.”

T-Mobile also announced that Mike Katz, its Chief Business & Product Officer, has decided to step away and pursue new professional interests. He will remain in a strategic advisory role through December 2026 to support a seamless transition. Added Mr. Gopalan: “I extend my sincere gratitude to Mike for his incredible contributions to T-Mobile over his 20-plus years. Mike helped shape the Un-carrier movement and has been a driving force of so many of the bold moves that have transformed our company and our industry. Millions of consumers benefit every day from Mike’s vision and his commitment to dare to do things differently.”

Continued Mr. Gopalan: “T-Mobile has incredible opportunity ahead as we continue to exceed the ambitious goals we’ve set for ourselves and set a new standard for our industry. I’m confident that our leadership team’s long-term vision will drive sustained growth for T-Mobile and develop bold new offerings for our customers.”

The following is copy and pasted from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/aliesswie_d2c-astspacemobile-3gpp-share-7477089705067708418-akRp/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABI5dsAB0b1n5OCgC6WQObA0an0v95E4bwo

Please Like and Comment on LinkedIn to boost the post's visibility on LinkedIn!

Voice from space, where link budget becomes the business model!

The industry often talks about direct-to-cell as if all services are equally hard. Well, they are not.

A short best-effort message, a delayed app update, or a small data burst can survive weak geometry, retries, and uneven link quality. Voice is different. A real carrier-grade voice call needs a sustained two-way bearer. The uplink and downlink must stay alive continuously, packet loss and jitter must remain bounded, and the device cannot spend the call repeatedly searching, re-accessing, or recovering from timing drift.

That is why voice from space is not just “data, but smaller.” It is a much harder network problem.

The binding constraint is usually the handset uplink. A normal phone transmits with limited power, from a tiny antenna, toward a satellite hundreds of kilometers away and moving at orbital speed. At low and mid bands, the free-space path loss from LEO is already around the mid-150 dB range under good geometry, and can move higher at low elevation. That leaves very little room for mistakes.

This is where satellite architecture matters. A large and well-designed spaceborne aperture improves both sides of the link, higher downlink EIRP toward the phone, and more importantly, higher receive sensitivity on the satellite side to hear the weak handset uplink.

For voice, that margin must be held over the duration of the call, not just during a favorable burst. Every few dB matter because they decide whether the network can maintain a stable bearer or falls back into repetitions, lower reliability, or dropped sessions.

Doppler and timing are the second wall. A LEO satellite can introduce large frequency shifts and fast-changing delay. A phone should not be forced to behave like a satellite terminal. The network has to absorb the motion, compensate delay and Doppler per cell or beam, and make the satellite look as close as possible to a normal mobile cell. Without that, the modem may technically connect, but voice quality becomes fragile because the control plane, scheduling, and uplink timing are always chasing motion.

This is the key strategic distinction in direct-to-cell. D2C systems can be good at opportunistic connectivity, messaging, best-effort apps, short bursts, and limited data under favorable conditions. However, carrier-grade voice and broadband to unmodified phones require a different design center: large aperture, uplink margin, low/mid-band operation, tight Doppler and delay compensation, and integration with the mobile core so voice behaves like a real operator service.

That is how the AST SpaceMobile ecosystem is designed from the ground up, not as an adaptation, but as a unique architecture for sustained link margin, voice continuity, and broadband service to everyday phones.

#D2C #ASTSpaceMobile #3GPP

https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUA252RK0V20C26A6000000/

https://x.com/Defiantclient2/status/2071513455526560042?s=20

This looks like the official Nikkei X post https://x.com/nikkei_keizai/status/2071491114155352160?s=20

FRESH OFF NIKKEI

Google Translated version:

Rakuten to launch Japanese version of Starlink; Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications provides 150 billion yen in subsidies for its own satellite communications system

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' project to subsidize direct communication with satellites developed by Japanese companies is expected to select a consortium of Rakuten Group companies . The project will provide a total of 150 billion yen over three years to cover costs such as satellite launches. The aim is to reduce dependence on overseas sources from an economic security perspective.

A formal decision is expected soon. Rakuten Group will partner with AST Space Mobile, a US satellite communications company in which it has invested, to develop operations in Japan. The plan will subsidize the costs of procuring and launching equipment necessary for a "satellite constellation" that links multiple low-Earth orbit satellites, as well as the development of ground facilities to control the satellites.

Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani revealed in an interview with the Nikkei Shimbun that they plan to establish a new company with AST Space Mobile to handle satellite business in Japan by 2026.

Even when ground-based communication networks are unusable due to natural disasters or other reasons, satellite communication can ensure a means of communication. During the 2012 Noto Peninsula earthquake, SpaceX's "Starlink" satellite was used as an emergency measure until communication cables could be restored.

Even in mountainous areas, remote islands, and at sea, where laying fiber optic cables is difficult, satellite communication can enable the use of mobile phones.

Currently, foreign companies, led by Starlink, have a dominant position in satellite communications. However, this reliance on overseas companies carries risks, such as the sudden disruption of service provision due to management policies, or the refusal to accept requests for roaming for temporary use during disasters.

In 2025, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk mentioned blocking Ukraine's use of Starlink, allegedly pressuring them to agree to an early peace with Russia.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has decided to launch a new project, judging that it is necessary to foster a "Japanese version of Starlink" operated by Japanese companies. It appears that no other companies besides the Rakuten Group consortium applied for this subsidy program.

On the 24th, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced its intention to allow direct satellite communications in the 700 megahertz band in preparation for new projects. Ministerial ordinances and other regulations are expected to be revised in September. Rakuten Group has already established a communication network connecting mobile phones and ground base stations in this frequency band.

To improve services, the use of higher frequency bands that can increase communication speeds in the future is also being considered. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will also consider developing a system to support direct satellite communications in high frequency bands as needed.

Note that Vodafone Spain is a separate entity from Vodafone!

https://www.democrata.es/en/economy/vodafone-spain-joins-satellite-connect-to-offer-direct-satellite-to-mobile-coverage/

Vodafone Spain has reached a commercial agreement with Satellite Connect Europe, a Luxembourg-based provider of 'direct-to-device' (D2D) satellite connectivity, with the aim of enabling direct satellite connection to mobile phones and thus ensuring continuous coverage in remote areas, emergency situations, corporate environments, and for individual users.

Vodafone's Director of Technology and Operations, Julia Velasco, announced this during the DigitalES Summit, which is taking place this Wednesday and Thursday in Madrid.

The VodafoneSAT service is designed to provide additional connectivity to companies and isolated areas as an extra layer of resilience, providing a signal where the traditional mobile network does not reach, including rural areas, maritime areas, and emergency or natural disaster scenarios, as well as security crisis responses.

Thanks to this technology, a user with a mobile phone in a location without coverage will be able to send messages via applications or consult maps, using the available spectrum very efficiently.

Among the main foreseen uses are emergency response, connectivity in rural areas and at sea, as well as applications in defense, security, agriculture, and business services.

Throughout 2026, use cases will be launched with companies, public administrations, and sectors considered strategic, in order to develop practical applications based on this satellite solution.

The service is expected to be commercialized starting in 2027, subject to the evolution of the regulatory framework. However, in exceptional or emergency circumstances, its early deployment could be authorized, always with the relevant institutional approvals.

Telefónica reinforces its collaboration with Satellite Connect Europe

On the other hand, Telefónica already announced at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) that it was collaborating with Satellite Connect Europe to explore the application of satellite-enabled services for consumers, businesses, and public services in Spain and Germany, as announced this Monday by the Spanish "telco".

The collaboration will focus on analyzing how "D2D" satellite capabilities could be integrated with Telefónica's existing 4G and 5G networks, with the aim of complementing terrestrial connectivity and improving network resilience in specific scenarios, such as remote areas or exceptional circumstances, maintaining an operator-managed experience.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom/telecom-news/15-billion-game-changer-reliance-jio-readies-for-a-big-bang-in-space/articleshow/131823227.cms?from=mdr

Synopsis

Reliance Jio is reportedly planning a massive 1,600-satellite low Earth orbit constellation, aiming for direct-to-device connectivity and extending its telecom dominance into space. This ambitious project, potentially costing $10-15 billion, seeks to bolster India's digital sovereignty and reduce reliance on foreign infrastructure, positioning Jio as a major global player.

I'm unable to copy and paste the article but the link above is free to view. The article is particularly interesting where it highlights the importance of sovereignty and that interlinked satellite systems like Starlink create a unique security challenge.

This is the same type of rationale why Starlink is not likely to be the winner of J-LEO.

Strangely, Vodafone Idea and AST SpaceMobile are not mentioned at all, but Bharti (Airtel) is mentioned.