The T-Mobile/SpaceX direct-to-device service will be commercially available starting July 23, T-Mobile said Monday. The service, T-Satellite, will include SMS texting, multimedia messaging service and picture messaging, it said. Starting Oct. 1, it will expand to offer data service, T-Mobile added. It said the service will automatically connect with most smartphones made in the past four years, and recent beta testing had nearly 1.8 million users.

Mobile virtual network operators' success depends in large part on the regulatory environment, management consultancy Arthur D. Little said Tuesday. The open-access mandate for MVNOs at nondiscriminatory wholesale rates in the EU has meant big growth for operators there, it said, while the complex licensing procedures and controls on infrastructure in India, China and Thailand have made it difficult for new entrants. A well-negotiated network access contract is also a must, it added, given how network traffic costs vary widely for MVNOs depending on the host mobile network operator and targeted customer segment. The firm highlighted Mint Mobile, which has found success in the U.S. through its simple product line of three subscriber plans and discounts that incentivize subscribers.

The Rural Wireless Association is fighting Grain Management's proposed purchase of T-Mobile's 800 MHz spectrum in exchange for cash and Grain's 600 MHz spectrum portfolio (see 2503210033). In a docket 25-178 petition to deny posted Monday, the group said the deal raises red flags about spectrum aggregation, competitive access and spectrum warehousing. A Grain/T-Mobile deal would be in the public interest if the FCC denied the related waiver requests and put conditions on T-Mobile's acquisition of the 600 MHz spectrum, the filing said. It urged the agency to keep the current license renewal timelines and buildout obligations for the to-be-assigned 800 MHz licenses, ensuring that Grain promptly makes the spectrum available to utilities, rural and regional carriers, and enterprise providers. Meanwhile, T-Mobile should be required to partition the 600 MHz licenses and make the spectrum available to small and rural carriers to lease long term or acquire, the association said.

The FCC’s Wireless Bureau and Office of Native Affairs and Policy will hold a videoconference July 15 to allow tribal groups to consult with agency staff about a CTIA petition (see 2503270059) that asked the FCC to streamline its rules involving the National Environmental Protection Act, said a public notice Monday. The consultation opportunity is “in furtherance of the Commission’s express desire to work with Tribal Nations” on proposals involving its environmental review processes, the notice said. “Attendance will be limited to elected and appointed leaders or duly appointed representatives of federally-recognized Tribal Nations and NHOs [Native Hawaiian Organizations], including Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.”

The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector has no objections to T-Mobile's proposed purchase of UScellular's wireless operations, NTIA said Monday (docket 24-286).

Mapping EchoStar's supposed coverage in the San Francisco area raises more questions about whether the company reached roughly 80% of the U.S. population as of the end of 2024, as it claimed, said Kristian Stout, innovation policy director for the International Center for Law & Economics. In a docket 22-212 filing posted Friday, Stout said it appeared that EchoStar attested that it covers adjacent markets using spectrum for which it doesn't hold a license.

The Utility Broadband Alliance supported a transaction announced in March, in which Grain Management would buy all of T-Mobile's 800 MHz spectrum in exchange for cash and Grain's 600 MHz spectrum portfolio (see 2503210033). Comments were due Friday in docket 25-178.

The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition on Friday asked the FCC to rethink its approval of waivers for Comsearch and C3Spectra, which provide automated frequency coordination systems in the 6 GHz band, to take building entry loss into account for “composite” standard- and low-power devices that are restricted to indoor operations (see 2505200016). The Office of Engineering and Technology approved the waivers last month.

Nokia filed a report this week at the FCC on its initial commercial deployment as a spectrum access system manager in the citizens broadband radio service band. Nokia asked the FCC not to make public the information it filed, which was posted Wednesday in docket 15-319 and completely redacted. The FCC approved Nokia’s application last summer (see 2407180035).

NCTA vigorously defended its arguments against making major changes to the technical rules for the citizens broadband radio service band. In a filing posted Wednesday in docket 17-258, NCTA said the CBRS framework “has enabled an impressive and growing array of users and use cases in the 3.5 GHz band, reinforcing the United States’s global leadership in spectrum policy.” It said, "Higher base station power levels and a relaxed in-band emissions limit of -13 dBm/MHz, individually and together, would fundamentally alter the nature of the CBRS band and yield a multitude of harms.”