Verizon continues to retool its executive leadership team, with Adam Koeppe, chief network officer for core engineering and operations, set to depart by the year-end.

Koeppe stated on LinkedIn “it’s time to move on to the next chapter” after more than 26 years with the company.

“My confidence in Verizon’s future remains high,” Koeppe stated. “The mission to build, secure, and scale the foundational networks of tomorrow matters now more than ever.”

He started his career in telecommunications as a customer service representative at Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile which was a joint venture that eventually led to the formation of Verizon.

Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner stated on LinkedIn Koeppe was one of the employees “who made Verizon Verizon almost from day one,” while congratulating him on “a terrific and highly impactful career”.

Koeppe was named to his current position in December 2025 after working in several technology and engineering roles during his career at Verizon.

Koeppe’s planned departure came after current CEO Dan Schulman took over as chief in October 2025 with a pledge to overhaul the company, including its executive team.

The company announced a plan to slash 15,000 jobs in November 2025, which was followed by laying off roughly 3,000 retail and corporate employees in July 2026.

Verizon announced in June 2026 Joe Russo, executive VP and president of global networks and technology, is retiring in Q1 of next year after 30 years at the company. He will be replaced by ex-Deutsche Telekom executive Abdu Mudesir.

In February, Verizon consumer chief Sowmyanarayan Sampath stepped down from his role as part of Schulman’s turnaround effort prior to resurfacing as CEO of Zayo on 1 September.

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Aerospace and defence groups are reportedly pushing back against a SpaceX-backed effort to overhaul wireless spectrum coordination for rocket launches.

Bloomberg reported the proposed changes would replace the third-party frequency-coordination system overseeing how government agencies and commercial entities share key telemetry bands.

The FCC sought public comment on modernising launch spectrum coordination following an August 2026 Presidential Memorandum and a petition filed by the Commercial Space Federation (CSF).

According to filings highlighted by outlet Vertical Aviation International, CSF asked the FCC to replace the existing flight-test frequency coordination process with direct coordination and an automated, near-real-time database across shared telemetry bands.

A coalition representing aerospace and defence organisations, commercial aircraft manufacturers including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and flight-test operators submitted formal comments urging the FCC to proceed cautiously.

In a joint submission, the Aerospace & Defense Industry Spectrum Coalition warned the proposed coordination changes could increase the risk of harmful electromagnetic interference.

The coalition stated these shared frequencies are vital for real-time safety telemetry during prototype aircraft evaluations, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) certification flights, and defence readiness testing.

It also argued the FCC’s expedited comment schedule did not allow sufficient time for comprehensive technical studies to verify non-interference.

The clash leaves the FCC balancing faster rocket launch schedules against the need to protect aerospace and defence users of the same spectrum from harmful interference.

FCC bird approval
SpaceX notched a regulatory win after it secured Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to launch 15,000 next-gen satellites for its direct-to-device (D2D) mobile service, creating a path to compete directly with AT&T, T-Mobile US and Verizon.

SpaceX filed its application with the FCC in September 2025 ahead of rebranding its D2D satellite offering as Starlink Mobile earlier this year.

Elon Musk-controlled SpaceX is targeting a download speed of 150Mb/s for its D2D service compared to about 4Mb/s on the downlink for the Starlink provisioned offering by T-Mobile.

Instead of relying on a terrestrial network with cell towers, SpaceX plans to pair its satellites with ground-based femtocells to provide 5G mobile coverage, a plan many executives in the industry consider far-fetched.

“With this action, SpaceX’s planned deployments will reshape spectrum-based connectivity by improving competition, allowing more consumers more choices in more places to further the Commission’s goal to connect everyone, everywhere to modern communications services,” the agency stated on 6 October

The FCC also issued SpaceX a waiver to offer its service through satellites without entering into a leasing agreement with a terrestrial mobile operator.

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