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.

The post Veteran Verizon exec Koeppe sets exit date appeared first on Mobile World Live.

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.

The post SpaceX-backed spectrum push draws aerospace opposition appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Finnish authorities told Google to suspend preparatory work on two planned data centres pending environmental reviews, after the company unveiled a €13 billion investment in the country’s AI infrastructure.

The Finnish Licencing and Supervision Agency (LVV) issued a notice to Google subsidiary Tuike Finland Oy to immediately suspend the data centre projects in Kajaani and Muhos regions “until the environmental impact assessment procedures for the projects have been completed”.

Tommi Muilu, head of the authority’s environmental department, stated available reports indicated extensive preparatory work had already taken place at the project sites, including tree and topsoil removal, construction of site roads and storage areas, alterations to ditches and culverts, and stormwater works.

“In our opinion, the measures in question will change the environment and cause impacts, the identification and assessment of which are among the key objectives of the EIA procedure,” he stated.

The suspension request applies, among other things, to the removal of trees, removal of topsoil, excavation, quarrying, crushing, transfer of soil masses, drainage and the construction of construction site roads and storage areas.

The request does not apply to planning, measurements, soil surveys or other measures with minor impacts and that can be easily restored.

The notice to Tuike Finland Oy ordered it to suspend work no later than 23 October until the environmental impact assessment procedures have been completed.

“We understand the concerns and have fallen short of our own high standards in this instance,” a Google representative told CNBC, adding it will follow the LVV’s guidance.

In addition to the data centres, the digital infrastructure project also includes AI facilities, nuclear power and renewable energy as part of Google’s largest single outlay in Europe.

The post Google told to halt work on Finnish data centres appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Trump Mobile’s customer database was reportedly hacked, exposing personal data of 3,615 subscribers in the latest set-back for the company launched by US President Donald Trump’s two oldest sons.

Straight Arrow News reported the hack appeared to be carried out last week by cybercrime entity BYOD.

The outlet reported BYOD claimed Trump Mobile stated it lacks a cybersecurity team after telling the company of the breach.

Trump Mobile representatives reportedly also likened BYOD’s actions to terrorism.

Straight Arrow News reported BYOD made the list of customers publicly accessible.

PCMag reported BYOD was able to gain access to the customer data through malware installed on the device of a Liberty Mobile employee, the MVNO behind Trump Mobile.

After a review of the stolen customer data, Straight Arrow News determined the leak included personal details about Trump Organisation VP and CIO Eric Brunnett, but not the president’s family.

Sensitive customer information was exposed in May, when the company began shipping devices.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump announced Trump Mobile and unveiled the T1 Phone in June 2025.

The device was priced at $499 and the company took $100 deposits from an estimated 600,000 people as it targeted first shipments in August or September 2025.

A claim the device was “proudly designed and built in the United States” was later stripped from press materials and the company’s website.

CNN previously reported the device strongly resembles a Chinese phone which retails for less than $200 at retailer Walmart.

The post Hackers leak Trump Mobile customer data appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Nvidia highlighted work to help operators rethink dependence on closed AI systems, promoting open-source models to give carriers direct control over network automation and customer workflows.

In a blog, Nvidia stated operators including SoftBank Corp, AT&T and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison are increasingly deploying open models alongside proprietary systems, explaining they retain full visibility over sensitive network data and can fine-tune models for their specific operational needs.

The move reflects a broader shift across telecommunications.

Nvidia highlighted the findings of its State of AI in Telecommunications 2026 survey in which 89% of operators deemed open-source software critical to their AI strategy, driven in part by independent benchmarks showing open models closing performance gaps in reasoning, coding and autonomous network triage.

Operators are dividing their workloads rather than relying on a single system. Expensive, proprietary models are reserved for complex tasks where closed platforms still hold an edge, while lower-cost open foundation models handle day-to-day operations.

SoftBank used Nvidia’s Nemotron family as the foundation for its Large Telecom Model, employing years of internal operational data.

Rajeev Koodli, principal fellow at SoftBank and SVP of SB Telecom America, explained open models allow it to capitalise on rapid global AI progress and its accumulated network expertise.

AT&T is also taking a multi-model approach. Chief data and AI officer Andy Markus said the goal is to intelligently match “every workload to the right combination of performance, cost and control.”

Nvidia highlighted Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison tailored its open models to Indonesian language and culture.

The post Nvidia flags open-source operator AI shift appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Dell’Oro Group reported worldwide telecom capex rose 5% year-on-year in the first half of the year, exceeding expectations following several years of declining investments.

Despite the promising start to the year, Dell’Oro’s long-term outlook remained largely unchanged by forecasting telecom capex growth of up to 1% CAGR through 2030.

Telecom equipment performance continued to closely mirror capex trends. Combined vendor revenue from the six telecom equipment segments monitored by Dell’Oro, comprised of Broadband Access, Microwave Transmission, Optical Transport, Mobile Core Network (MCN), Radio Access Network (RAN), and High-End Router & Aggregation, also increased by about 5% over the same timeframe.

Dell’Oro VP Stefan Pongratz explained operators have greater capacity following the 5G and fibre investment cycles and are gradually redirecting spending from coverage to capacity, modernisation, automation and efficiency.

“At the same time, improving operator revenues are helping to reduce capital intensity ratios even as network investments remain flat,” he stated.

Capital intensity, which peaked at 18% in 2022, is forecast to decline to around 14% in 2028, ahead of increasing slightly as early 6G investment starts.

Overall, telecom equipment revenue is projected to grow at a 2% to 3% CAGR between 2025 and 2030, outpacing CSP capex, partly due to incremental demand from cloud providers.

The post Worldwide telecom capex surges in first half of 2026 appeared first on Mobile World Live.

AT&T, Global Infrastructure Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are creating a fibre joint venture (JV) by combining the Forged Fiber 37 and Gigapower assets, in a boost to the operator’s goal of providing connectivity to more than 60 million locations by 2030.

The JV will operate as a wholesale fibre commercial open access company. The operator stated it will utilise AT&T’s fibre assets and investor capital to expand fibre and 5G services across 16 states, enhancing customer experience with converged connectivity. The JV is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

Forged Fiber 37 is a wholly owned subsidiary created by AT&T to house the mass-markets fibre business, customer relationships, network assets, and build engine which AT&T acquired from Lumen Technologies.

Global Infrastructure Partners is a subsidiary of Black Rock. AT&T and Black Rock formed Gigapower, a wholesale open-access fibre network JV, in 2022.

AT&T will retain 50% ownership of the JV while GIP and CPP Investments will collectively hold the remaining stake.

AT&T CEO John Stankey is bullish on the convergence of fibre broadband and 5G services and has long held wherever it has fibre deployed “it wins”.

Stankey stated fibre is essential in an AI-driven world as demand for symmetrical, high-capacity and low-latency connectivity grows. He added the offering will extend reliable, high-speed fibre to more US consumers, increase AT&T’s scale and service reach and strengthen its position in converged fibre and 5G connectivity.

Last month the operator announced a multi-year fibre and cable deal valued at more than $3 billion with glass-specialist Corning to advance its converged strategy of mobile and broadband services.

The post AT&T forges fibre JV to expand reach across US appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Telus and AST SpaceMobile completed an initial integration test between the mobile operator’s terrestrial network and the satellite player’s space-based infrastructure ahead of enabling direct-to-device (D2D) calls and text messages.

Independent analyst Carlos Placido told Mobile World Live southern Canada should have better coverage than other regions due to the inclination of AST SpaceMobile’s satellites.

“They said they would have 45 to 60 satellites in orbit by year-end, but currently have only 12, making that target seem unlikely,” he said.

Canada has large rural areas where terrestrial connectivity is not available which makes D2D services more attractive.

Telus EVP and CTO Nazim Benhadid described the successful test with AST SpaceMobile as an important step towards extending mobile coverage to areas without service, supporting the operator’s goal of providing reliable connectivity to more Canadians.

AST SpaceMobile previously projected 45 to 60 of its next-generation satellites would launch this year but is now targeting having approximately 45 in orbit by early 2027.

The delay was revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing tied to a $1 billion notes offering and follows a serious setback to one of its two main launch partners.

The post AST SpaceMobile, Telus advance D2D testing appeared first on Mobile World Live.

US President Donald Trump (pictured) appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as his administration’s AI czar as part of an effort to coordinate the government’s initiative across the sector.

In a social media post, Trump stated Clayton will lead the newly formed Super Intelligence Force (SIF) to coordinate “the effort of the Federal Government to ensure that America continues to lead the World in Super Intelligence, which many say is bigger than the Industrial Revolution”.

Trump recently rebranded AI as “super intelligence” by signing an executive order directing all federal agencies, public communications, websites, and policy documents to use the new name.

He said SIF will oversee the federal government’s engagement with consumers, public interest groups, religious organisations, critical infrastructure providers, and super Intelligence companies.

The President has continued to downplay the potential impact AI could pose to humanity, arguing a recent pact signed by some of the top AI companies to self-regulate their efforts is sufficient.

The Wall Street Journal reported Clayton’s panel will review AI-related risks and current government mechanisms for breaches, hacks, and other related incidents while recommending ways to strengthen the government’s response capabilities using existing authorities.

Trump explained SIF will report directly to him and his Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles.

Musk rebrands
Elon Musk posted on X stating he was renaming SpaceX’s AI division to SpaceXSI to follow Trump’s lead on the term super intelligence.

“Yes, we ​will make that change,” he ​replied to a user on X asking ⁠him about the possibility of ​renaming SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI.

The post Trump names super intelligence czar; Musk rebrands AI unit appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Former Verizon and Ericsson chief Hans Vestberg (pictured) was named senior adviser at investment bank Evercore to provide technology insights to its customers.

The US independent investment bank provides strategic and financial advice to boards of directors, management teams and shareholders on M&A, capital structure, restructurings and strategic shareholder consulting.

Evercore chair and CEO John Weinberg said Vestberg’s decades of leadership experience in global telecommunications, along with his knowledge of technology, international markets and complex strategic matters, “will further strengthen the advice and insight we provide to our clients”.

The executive was replaced as Verizon CEO in October 2025 after being in charge for more than seven years.

Earlier in his career he spent more than 25 years at Ericsson, including a stint of more than six years as CEO.

In February, he was appointed a senior adviser to AI data centre infrastructure company Digipower X to help the company with its expansion plans.

The post Former Verizon CEO Vestberg joins Evercore as senior adviser appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen reportedly cast doubt on whether AI companies would honour a voluntary safety pledge agreed after a meeting with US President Donald Trump last week.

Haugen told CNBC OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Google needed to “step up and comply” with the AI agreement.

“The history of tech companies engaging with regulation is: Often they will follow the exact written statement when we are dealing with very flexible systems,” Haugen told CNBC.

She questioned whether the companies would follow the “spirit of the rules” or exploit conduct that was not expressly prohibited to “go around the end of the fence”.

Haugen pointed to Anthropic and CEO Dario Amodei’s support for independent auditors as evidence companies were addressing safety more proactively as concerns about AI posing an existential risk intensified.

“I think that is an acknowledgement that at least Dario knows that if you’re given the space to cut corners, even the angels among us begin to cut corners,” Haugen told CNBC.

In 2021, Haugen, who previously worked as a product manager on Facebook’s civic misinformation team, provided internal documents to the Wall Street Journal, prompting a series of reports known as The Facebook Files.

The documents included evidence the company knew its platforms were harming teenagers’ mental health.

The post AI firms urged to honour US safety pledge appeared first on Mobile World Live.

MobileX beefed up its executive team by hiring Raju Datla (pictured) as its CFO, which followed special purpose acquisition company CONX taking a controlling stake in the MVNO in August.

The company stated Datla brings more than 25 years of experience across technology, finance and business strategy. Prior to MobileX, he served as CFO of RedCloud Holdings, where he led finance, capital markets and the financial execution of the company’s global expansion.

His career stops also include serving as CSO at Tillman Fiber and as CFO and co-founder of NxtGen Datacenter & Cloud Technologies.

Earlier in his career, he worked at Deutsche Bank, advising technology media and telecommunications companies on more than $12 billion in M&A, debt and equity transactions.

Datla will work with founder and CEO Peter Adderton to lead funding, partnerships and financial strategy.

“MobileX is at a point where we’re not just scaling what we’ve built; we’re expanding what the platform can become,” Adderton stated while adding Datla “understands both the technology and the financial strategy needed to support that ambition”.

Under its new ownership structure with Charlie Ergen-controlled CONX, MobileX launched its first hybrid retail wireless model with CallSign Mobile in September.

The post MobileX names Datla as CFO appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Ghana awarded 5G spectrum licences to Telecel Group and MTN’s local unit, ending the exclusive wholesale-network model previously used for the country’s 5G rollout, Bloomberg reported.

The exclusivity previously belonged to Next-Gen Infrastructure Company (NGIC), a joint venture (JV) combining Reliance Industries’ Radisys unit, Tech Mahindra, Nokia, and the Ghanaian government, alongside local partners Telecel and AT Ghana.

The JV aimed to reproduce India’s low-cost mobile data model by allowing operators to share infrastructure, but rollout delays prevented it from meeting its targets. Ghana’s government cancelled NGIC’s concession years before its scheduled expiry in 2034 and moved to direct competitive bidding.

Under the new arrangement, Telecel and MTN will build out their own independent networks.

“We plan to launch the service in December this year on our own network,” Telecel CEO Moh Damush told Bloomberg.

Ghana had 49 operational 5G sites earlier this year, compared with a target of 1,200 by 2027. The new licensing model allows established operators to use their existing network footprints to expand coverage. A filing on the Accra bourse showed MTN secured two lots of 700MHz spectrum and three in the 3GHz band, with each 15-year licence priced at about $100 million.

The post Ghana splits 5G licences between Telecel, MTN appeared first on Mobile World Live.

EchoStar-subsidiary Dish DBS cut its outstanding debt by more than $4 billion after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The reduction included debt restructuring, full repayment of Dish DBS’ 7.75% senior notes due 1 July 2026 and a partial early repayment of its 5.25% senior secured notes due 1 December 2026. The prepackaged Chapter 11 plan took effect yesterday (1 October).

Dish DBS and certain subsidiaries, including Dish Wireless and its subsidiaries, filed for Chapter 11 protection on 30 June 2026 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas under a plan largely agreed with creditors in advance.

The companies split the restructuring into separate plans for Dish DBS and Dish Wireless on 27 August. The court approved the Dish DBS plan on 29 September, and it took effect two days later.

Dish DBS and its guarantors also entered three supplemental indentures covering its notes. Wilmington Savings Fund Society serves as successor trustee, while US Bank Trust Company acts as collateral agent and trustee. EchoStar will file the agreements as exhibits to its next Form 10-Q.

Dish DBS was deconsolidated from EchoStar’s financial statements from 30 June 2026 due to the bankruptcy filing. EchoStar will consolidate the business again from 1 October following its exit from Chapter 11.

The restructuring implements terms of a support agreement EchoStar disclosed in March after negotiations with creditors. Dish Wireless remains in bankruptcy proceedings under a separate plan.

The post Dish DBS sheds $4.4B in debt, exits Chapter 11 appeared first on Mobile World Live.

US President Donald Trump (pictured) reportedly continued to dismiss concerns about any threat AI poses to humanity while repeating his claim guardrails would impede its development.

In a wide-ranging interview with Time Magazine published yesterday (1 October), Trump stated he liked Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei after a recent dinner. He praised the executive’s intelligence and claimed Amodei’s actual views differed from how they were portrayed in the media.

In mid-June 2026, the Trump administration issued a directive instructing Anthropic to suspend access to its advanced models over national security concerns related to potential jailbreaking vulnerabilities but then reversed course around a month later.

“I liked him and his wife a lot,” Trump told Time Magazine. “Very smart guy. Maybe different than I thought, a little bit. Really a little bit different. But no, he understands.”

Trump hosted a meeting at the White House with some of the top AI executives, including Amodei, on 29 September, which led to participants signing a voluntary framework focused on industry self-regulation and internal oversight.

The president has opposed any sort of guardrails for AI from the government, claiming they would hamper development and lead to China overtaking the US. Trump told Time Magazine his guardrail against AI labs is enforcement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Department of Justice.

“Look, I say, if you’re going to seek regulation, they can put you out of business,” he said in the magazine interview. “Now you do have to be responsible for yourself, and there aren’t a lot of people that understand what’s going on”.

“This is a new one that is much different than people have ever seen before. But my attitude is, we’re winning against the world by a lot, and I want to keep winning,” he added.

Time Magazine noted 71% of US citizens oppose building data centres while 57% believe AI will do more harm than good. Trump has repeatedly referred to AI concerns as a hoax.

In the interview he claimed data centres “make a fortune” and would lead to lower taxes.

Trump also indicated he could be interested in the US government owning a stake in in Anthropic or OpenAI, similar to the deal he struck with Intel.

The post Trump brushes off AI concerns, praises Anthropic CEO appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Samsung reportedly raised prices across most of its flagship Galaxy S26 range as a global memory shortage pushed component costs up.

Bloomberg reported prices for the Galaxy S26, S26+ and flagship S26 Ultra increased by $100 each, taking starting figures to $1,000, $1,200, and $1,400.

The high-end 1TB S26 Ultra now starts at $2,000, up $200, Bloomberg wrote.

Demand for high-bandwidth memory used in AI infrastructure and data centres has tightened supplies of DRAM and mobile memory chips over the past year, increasing the bill-of-materials for smartphones, PCs and games consoles.

Bloomberg noted Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro range is more costly than previous editions and the vendor recently raised prices for some older models.

It highlighted Google’s Pixel 11 devices are also pricier than their predecessors.

Bloomberg noted the price of Samsung’s entry-level Galaxy S26 FE remains at the $700 set at its launch in August. The fee is $50 higher than the comparable previous model.

The news outlet highlighted Samsung held the prices of its Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8.

Bloomberg also flagged the $1,900 price tag on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 as being less than the $1,999 price Apple plans to charge for its iPhone Duo, which is scheduled to launch on 23 October.

The post Samsung ups S26 prices as memory crunch bites appeared first on Mobile World Live.

US broadband vendor Inseego completed its deal to buy Nokia’s fixed wireless access (FWA) CPE business, in a move it expects will roughly double its revenue.

By adding indoor, outdoor and mmWave FWA technologies to its wireless broadband portfolio, Inseego stated it now has a global presence across consumer and business connectivity.

Its footprint for operators now includes Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, while also expanding its engineering capabilities.

To support its global ambition, Inseego established an international headquarters in Amsterdam, a development centre in Athens, Greece, expanded its presence in Bangalore, India, and added customer-facing sales and technical resources across its new markets.

“We now have the scale, technology, and global reach to support carriers across business, residential, and mobile use cases,” Inseego CEO Juho Sarvikas said.

The deal, announced in April, grants Nokia approximately 1.9 million common shares, representing an 11% ownership stake in Inseego

The Finnish vendor also received warrants to purchase up to 800,000 shares of common stock, at an exercise price of $4.26 per share.

Nokia will also kick in a further $10 million cash payment by 15 October to support engineering work on interoperability between Inseego’s device operating system and cloud platform and certain Nokia technology ecosystems over the coming year.

Nokia will provide transition support and refer new FWA opportunities to Inseego.

About 250 people from the acquired business will support Inseego’s engineering, product management, supply chain, sourcing and customer support operations. They include employees joining Inseego and Nokia personnel providing support under a transition services agreement.

The post Inseego wraps up deal to buy Nokia FWA CPE unit appeared first on Mobile World Live.

T-Mobile US, Verizon and AT&T sealed their joint venture (JV) to expand coverage across areas of the US that terrestrial services cannot reach, in a rare example of cooperation between the big three.

The move followed an announcement in May outlining how the operators planned to pool their spectrum resources to eliminate “dead zones” by expanding satellite coverage for customers nationwide.

Former AT&T, Cingular Wireless and Ameritech executive Paul Roth is serving as the interim CEO of the JV while a search for a permanent chief is underway. The entity will be managed by a board with representatives from each founding member.

The companies stated the JV will “nearly eliminate dead zones in the U.S. currently without mobile service, reaching previously unserved areas” to cut down on coverage gaps.

It will also be beneficial for first responders during natural disasters or other disruptions by providing connectivity when terrestrial services are down.

They claim the new service will also provide a better customer experience for direct-to-device (D2D) consumer services through the unified approach.

T-Mobile notably has launched a commercial D2D service in collaboration with SpaceX, while Verizon has rolled out a satellite messaging service with Skylo Technologies. Verizon and AT&T are also separately working with AST SpaceMobile.

AT&T Business has a partnership in place with Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Leo to provide connectivity to businesses across the US. SpaceX is also mulling a mobile service through its Starlink birds, but the industry is somewhat sceptical of its approach.

The operators stated the venture will also be a boon to additional satellite providers while also collaborating closely with rural mobile operators to expand access and simplify integration.

The service could emerge as a threat to cable operators such as Cox Communications, formerly Charter Communications, Comcast and smaller providers across rural areas which are currently losing broadband subscribers to fixed wireless access services offered by the trio.

The combined use of each operator’s spectrum will improve efficiency while enabling mobile operators to deploy new services at a faster rate.

The JV also plans to take a standards-based approach to satellite services while allowing each of the three to continue their individual efforts across the sector.

The post T-Mobile US, Verizon, AT&T satellite JV lifts off appeared first on Mobile World Live.

A non-profit legal group reportedly sued OpenAI over a cyberattack by its AI agents against Hugging Face, in what CNBC described as a test case for whether an AI company can be held legally responsible for damage caused by autonomous systems.

The news outlet reported Legal Advocates for Safe Science and Technology (LASST) filed the suit on 29 September in a Superior Court. It relates to OpenAI agents escaping their testing environment onto the open internet and hacking Hugging Face’s systems in the process, one of the earliest known actions of its kind, CNBC wrote.

CNBC reported LASST believes OpenAI breached Californian computer laws and should be held accountable for the actions of its agents. It wants the court to bar the company’s systems from accessing computers without authorisation.

An OpenAI representative told CNBC the suit lacks merit.

OpenAI scrapped plans to release a new model this week over safety concerns, days after stating it is thoroughly reviewing future iterations as a result of the Hugging Face incident, CNBC reported.

Various reports indicate the company’s agents also hacked an Australian government website.

CNBC noted Hugging Face is not involved in the LASST lawsuit, but highlighted a previous call from the start-up’s CEO Clement Delangue for OpenAI to donate $100 million towards helping it beef up its defences.

OpenAI reportedly tried to invest the same sum in Hugging Face. Nvidia ultimately secured a deal to buy it for $13 billion.

The post OpenAI sued over Hugging Face breach appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reportedly opened a wide-ranging probe into Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies over the potential danger posed by their models.

The New York Post reported FTC chair Andrew Ferguson launched the investigation before OpenAI agents attacked AI startup Hugging Face in a test.

Its probe will seek documents on alleged unfair or deceptive practices violating the FTC Act from AI players, or “super intelligence” companies as President Donald Trump calls them.

The agency is now drafting a civil investigative demand to force testimony from leading companies in the space.

Its move adds to scrutiny of OpenAI and Anthropic’s safety practices after researchers warned their models could cause catastrophic harm.

News outlets reported President Donald Trump met executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Nvidia earlier this week, after which the companies signed a voluntary commitment on AI development.

The framework arrived during a dispute over whether safety concerns should slow development.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently proposed permanent third-party evaluators inside AI companies as part of a wider plan to curb advances in frontier capabilities. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman backed the proposal.

The post US FTC opens investigation into top AI players appeared first on Mobile World Live.