Enlarge / SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert at a joint event on August 25, 2022, in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. (credit: Getty Images | Michael Gonzalez )

The Federal Communications Commission says it wants to help satellite companies and mobile carriers partner up to close gaps in wireless networks. In a 4-0 vote, the FCC yesterday proposed "a new regulatory framework" designed to help satellite operators and wireless companies "leverage the growth in space-based services to connect smartphone users in remote, unserved, and underserved areas."

In August 2022, Starlink operator SpaceX and T-Mobile announced a plan to deliver space-to-ground service to mobile phones in areas not covered by T-Mobile's cellular network. SpaceX said this week that the companies plan to start testing the satellite-to-cell service sometime this year. Text messaging is expected to be the first supported service, with voice and Internet coverage to be added later.

The FCC said yesterday that "numerous such collaborations have launched recently, and the FCC seeks to establish clear and transparent processes to support supplemental coverage from space."

Enlarge / Hug it out, boys.

As every Roman historian and Shakespeare fan knows, a soothsayer once told Caesar to beware the Ides of March , for on that day, dark and terrible things would happen. I like to think the message was intended for me, too, because today, my beloved low-cost wireless carrier, Mint Mobile, packed up its ironic communications style, its celebrity ownership, and its $15/month plans... and agreed to sell them all to T-Mobile for $1.35 billion .

Good for actor Ryan Reynolds, part-owner of Mint Mobile. As Reynolds said in a statement , "We are so happy T-Mobile beat out an aggressive last-minute bid from my mom Tammy Reynolds as we believe the excellence of their 5G network will provide a better strategic fit than my mom’s slightly-above-average mahjong skills." (Ha-ha!) Reynolds also released the funniest acquisition video I have ever seen.

Still, the news is depressing. Mint felt fresh; it was a wireless carrier with a slick website and app that worked (at least for me) simply and seamlessly, an irreverent and straight-talking style (Reynolds sent out temp tattoos of his face to subscribers for Christmas; they said, "No Ragrets"), and great prices. It all Just Worked . Now, I love a good value, but not at the cost of janky service, constant hiccups, and 2000-era websites like I saw at other cheap mobile providers. And it wasn't just me; Mint racked up many recommendations, including the "best budget" wireless option from Wirecutter .

Enlarge (credit: GCShutter | E+ )

Today, the Federal Communications Commission proposed rules to implement the Safe Connections Act , which President Joe Biden signed into law last December . Advocates consider the law a landmark move to stop tech abuse. Under the law, mobile service providers are required to help survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence access resources and maintain critical lines of communication with friends, family, and support organizations.

Under the proposed rules, mobile service providers are required to separate a survivor’s line from a shared or family plan within two business days. Service providers must also “omit records of calls or text messages to certain hotlines from consumer-facing call and text message logs,” so that abusers cannot see when survivors are seeking help. Additionally, the FCC plans to launch a “Lifeline” program, providing emergency communications support for up to six months for survivors who can’t afford to pay for mobile services.

“These proposed rules would help survivors obtain separate service lines from shared accounts that include their abusers, protect the privacy of calls made by survivors to domestic abuse hotlines, and provide support for survivors who suffer from financial hardship through our affordability programs,” the FCC’s announcement said.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Andrey Denisyuk)

Multiple Internet service providers have submitted false availability data to the federal government for a map that will be used to determine which parts of the US get access to a $42.45 billion broadband fund. We wrote about Comcast's false coverage claims last week, and this article will detail false or at least questionable coverage claims from SpaceX's Starlink division and the wireless home Internet divisions at Verizon and T-Mobile.

Some false claims are easy to prove by looking at the providers' availability websites. SpaceX claims to serve virtually the whole US on the Federal Communications Commission map but the Starlink website's map shows the service has a waitlist in huge portions of the country.

We heard from two people who successfully challenged Starlink's service claims at their homes, one in Harrietta, Michigan, and another in West Chester, Pennsylvania. We verified on the FCC map that, in both cases, these residents' challenges were upheld because it's not possible to get Starlink service at their addresses yet. But each challenge only corrects the false data for a single address, and Starlink still claims to serve the surrounding residences on the FCC map.

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With AT&T's and Verizon's 5G battle against the aviation industry mostly behind them, the carriers have significantly boosted wireless speeds with their newly deployed spectrum.

From March to September, AT&T users' average download speeds rose 34.6 percent from 50Mbps to 67.3Mbps. Verizon users' average 5G download speeds rose 15.8 percent in the same span, from 70.3Mbps in March to 81.4Mbps in September. The US data is from a report set to be released today by OpenSignal.

The testing firm attributes the speed boosts to AT&T's and Verizon's use of C-band spectrum in the 3.7 GHz range. "C-band explains the jump in users' overall 5G download speeds on both carriers because of its significantly greater capacity than lower-frequency 5G bands," OpenSignal wrote, continuing:

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Andrey Denisyuk)

T-Mobile won the lion's share of spectrum licenses in the latest Federal Communications Commission auction, helping it fill rural network gaps that evoked comparisons to Swiss cheese. T-Mobile's winning bids totaled $304.3 million, letting it obtain 7,156 licenses out of 7,872 that were sold, the FCC announced yesterday .

T-Mobile's licenses are spread across 2,724 counties (out of 3,143 total in the US). The second-highest bidder in dollar terms was PTI Pacifica, which spent $17.7 million on nine licenses in five counties. "With most of the available spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band located in rural areas, this auction provides vital spectrum resources to support wireless services in rural communities," the FCC said.

The auction provided up to three blocks of spectrum, totaling 117.5MHz in each county. In terms of the number of licenses won, the second-place finisher was the North American Catholic Educational Programming Fund. Its winning bids totaled $7.8 million and cover 107 licenses in 84 counties.

Enlarge / T-Mobile's Mike Sievert and SpaceX's Elon Musk appear on stage at Starbase Thursday evening.

BOCA CHICA, Texas —SpaceX and T-Mobile announced an ambitious plan on Thursday evening to provide ubiquitous connectivity to anyone with a cell phone from space.

The project would pair SpaceX's Starlink satellite technology with the second largest wireless carrier in the United States, T-Mobile US, and its mid-band spectrum, mobile network, and large customer base.

Delivering space-to-ground internet to mobile phones will require SpaceX to finalize development of its second generation of Starlink satellites. These will be significantly larger than the current ones, which have a mass of about 295 kg. SpaceX founder and chief engineer Elon Musk said project could enter "beta service" before the end of 2023.

Enlarge (credit: tupungato | iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus )

When T-Mobile compromised the sensitive personal information of more than 76 million current, former, and prospective customers in 2021 , plaintiffs involved in a class action lawsuit complained that the company continued profiting off their data while attempting to cover up “one of the largest and most consequential data breaches in US history.”

Now, T-Mobile has admitted no guilt but has agreed to pay a $500 million settlement (pending a judge’s approval), out of which $350 million will go to the settlement fund and “at least $150 million” will go toward enhancing its data security measures through 2023.

T-Mobile declined to tell Ars about specific upcoming plans to improve data security, instead linking to a statement that outlines measures it has taken to “double down” on security in the past year. That includes creating a Cybersecurity Transformation Office that directly reports to T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert; collaborating with cybersecurity firms to “further transform our cybersecurity program;” ramping up employee cybersecurity training; and investing “hundreds of millions of dollars to enhance our current cybersecurity tools and capabilities.”