#satellite

A German company with a Colorado presence is utilizing satellite technology to improve wildfire detection and tracking. OroraTech provides satellite imagery to fire departments, supplementing existing ground-based camera networks. This space-based monitoring allows for earlier identification of fires, even when traditional cameras are obscured by smoke. The company's constellation of satellites offers more frequent updates than existing systems, focusing on the critical afternoon hours when fires are most active. By combining satellite data with other sensors, OroraTech also generates fire simulations to aid in response strategies.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

https://gazette.com/2026/08/17/german-company-in-colorado-providing-wildfire-detection-and-tracking-from-space-2/

SpaceX's first earnings call (Aug 2026) after its June IPO, where President Gwynne Shotwell and CEO Elon Musk announced plans to build a real terrestrial mobile network, not just satellite-to-phone backup service, putting them in direct competition with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

The core plan

• SpaceX is acquiring 65 MHz of spectrum from EchoStar (~$17B deal) that includes rights to build ground-based ("terrestrial") service, not just satellite.
• Instead of building traditional giant cell towers, SpaceX wants to turn existing Starlink satellite dishes (already on rooftops) into small cellular base stations ("femtocells") — cheap and already deployed.
• Musk argues this could give better/higher bandwidth coverage than today's carriers, especially since dishes have unobstructed sky/ground views.
• Shotwell claims the upgraded system (new spectrum + next-gen satellites) will be "100x better" than current Starlink Mobile. New satellites start launching next year (2027), with service beginning end of 2027.
• Shotwell won't disclose the buildout budget — she says the femtocell approach lets them scale spending gradually instead of huge upfront capex.

Why analysts are skeptical

• 65 MHz is tiny next to what AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon collectively hold (over 1,000 MHz).
• One analyst (Craig Moffett) says without an MVNO deal from an existing carrier, Starlink can't realistically be "competitive" in the next 5 years — and the Big 3 have all declined to do MVNO deals with Starlink.
• The Big 3 are pooling spectrum/resources in a joint venture partly to blunt this threat.
• The podcast (Recon Analytics) gives a more detailed, more bullish-but-nuanced technical theory: SpaceX will likely buy 800 MHz spectrum (from a company called Grain, originally from Dish/T-Mobile swap) for wide rural coverage on tall "macro" towers, then densify using its EchoStar/AWS spectrum, and eventually buy upper C-band spectrum for cities — all timed around the 2027 5G-NTN satellite standard. Their view: SpaceX will dominate rural coverage and be a real disruptor, but won't fully replace AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile as a nationwide equal within the next several years.
• The IEEE ComSoc "Analysis & Opinion" piece (AI-assisted) argues the most likely outcome isn't a full carrier build-out or acquiring a carrier, but a hybrid: buy spectrum + selectively lease/acquire small assets, build only where economically justified, and lean on satellite for the rest — because SpaceX's capital is increasingly being pulled toward AI data center spending instead.

Bottom line: SpaceX/Starlink is signaling serious intent to become a real, direct competitor to the wireless carriers — not just a satellite backup service — using spectrum it's acquiring and a low-cost "distributed small station" approach rather than traditional towers. Nearly everyone agrees this is a real threat (all three carriers' stocks dropped after the earnings call), but there's real debate over the timeline (2027 vs. 2030+) and whether it ever becomes a true fourth national carrier versus a strong niche/rural player that pressures the incumbents.

Most likely future: a hybrid model — towers stay dominant in cities and suburbs, while satellite fills the gaps in rural/remote areas and acts as emergency backup everywhere

Why just wait, let’s act! Crown Castle’s nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure provides an ideal platform to accelerate Starlink’s vision of a hybrid satellite and terrestrial network. By integrating Starlink equipment and direct-to-cell technology at select Crown Castle sites, SpaceX could rapidly expand coverage, reduce deployment costs, and improve resilience without the time and capital required to build an entirely new terrestrial footprint.

For Crown Castle, the partnership would create a new source of long-term infrastructure demand as wireless networks evolve beyond traditional macro towers. Instead of viewing satellite connectivity as a competitive threat, Crown Castle could position itself as the preferred infrastructure partner for next-generation hybrid communications.

Together, the companies could:

• Extend reliable connectivity into rural and underserved communities.
• Strengthen emergency and disaster-response communications.
• Reduce cellular dead zones through integrated satellite and terrestrial coverage.
• Accelerate deployment of direct-to-cell services using existing infrastructure.
• Create a scalable model for the future of global wireless connectivity.

A partnership would allow each company to leverage its core strengths: Starlink’s advanced satellite network and Crown Castle’s extensive terrestrial infrastructure. The result could be a faster, more cost-effective path to building a truly seamless communications network than either company could achieve independently.

We don’t want to wither away right? Can someone please get this going - both in Texas it makes sense!

Elon announces he wants to have mobile service via Starlink, and the TMUS stock drops to $172 a share. This POS is down $50 a share over it high in March of $221 a share. That's some awesome executiving.

https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/spacex-starlink-threat-sends-t-110144114.html

Are EchoStar employees still calling themselves “disruptors”?. The pay TV business is bankrupt, satellite TV is dying, Sling isn’t competitive, the wireless strategy has been abandoned, and Hughes is under pressure… what exactly are you disrupting? I have an offer but I am wondering if it’s even worth taking

SpaceX is launching Starlink at full speed, and it is coming straight for the big three telecom companies. This is not some minor disruption. Starlink delivers high-speed internet from space to places traditional infrastructure struggles to reach, and it is moving fast.

AT&T cannot afford to sit back. The current leadership team is not built for this fight. These executives have operated in the old world of limited competition and steady returns. That model is ending. They lack the urgency, vision, and willingness to make the tough calls needed to respond to a competitor that thinks in terms of global satellite constellations rather than quarterly earnings.

The company needs new leaders who understand technology disruption and are ready to move with speed and decisiveness. Cleaning house at the top is not optional. It is essential if AT&T wants to survive and compete in the years ahead. The window is closing. Time to act.

https://www.barchart.com/story/news/3024814/why-verizon-at-t-and-t-mobile-should-be-terrified-of-elon-musks-next-move

Maybe not fully ready for the first 2-3yrs for mass migration but it’s coming. And at the very least, we’ll likely lose FN. And that will lead to mass layoffs as Johnboy takes it out on us.

Anyone with half a brain knows that Starlink is no longer just a rural internet fix. With 9.2 million paying customers ($10B in annual rev), and direct-to-cell satellites already working on standard smartphones, SpaceX is building a parallel network that bypasses carriers like ours entirely. Oppenheimer recently flagged it as a threat to the entire $1.6 trillion US communications industry. Legacy carriers spent decades owning and building the costly infrastructure. SpaceX just launched its own.

SpaceX is going scotch earthed and VZ will be roadkill!

Starlink/SpaceX will be going after every cable and fiber ISP customer as early as this year. AST SpaceMobile which we have like a 2% stake in (Somebody somewhere in AT&T had a brain) will be going after the wireless customers as early as next year. Rocket Lab and Space X in the satellite payload biz. Rocket Lab and SpaceX beaming solar energy back to the ground. Meanwhile AT&T employees will be monitoring their presence reports. Is 7.7 hours enough? Good news. 6.7 is enough!

Much of management has proven they are clueless, sociopathic and pretty much stupid when it comes to real analysis of what will and will not work when it comes to the network. And for those few that know better, they are spineless and will not speak up to stop the insanity. It would not surprise me for there to be mass layoffs if/when a handful of Elon's satellites get deployed and VZ jumps the g-n firing people with the thinking they will move customers to the satellite system. The facts are that the satellite systems will help the rural areas, and probably have some [more] governmental applications (more spying on our citizens), but high traffic areas will still need ground based cell sites. See the question asked on Google, and the response (bottom line - the pipe is not big enough to serve lots of people at the same time, and too many satellites would be needed to make it work).

Here is the question posted on Google (if you want to ask variations yourself):
How many simultaneous users can be served with 5 mbps download speeds on a single satellite (all beams) using the latest satellite and mobile technology and 100Mhz of bandwidth?

And here is the answer (NOTE the last section):

AI Overview
With 100 MHz} of bandwidth of bandwidth, a single satellite system with the latest 5G and mobile technology can serve between 4,000 and 12,000 active, simultaneous users (depending on the use of spatial beam multiplexing) at a guaranteed 5 Mbps download speed.
The Breakdown
To calculate how many simultaneous connections can be maintained, we must look at the mathematical throughput and spatial reuse of modern Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN).
Spectral Efficiency: The latest 5G New Radio (NR) standards have a high spectral efficiency, delivering roughly (3) to (6\text{ bits}) per second per Hertz.
Total Per-Beam Throughput: For a (100\text{ MHz}) channel (the maximum standard carrier component), a single spot beam yields a peak capacity between (300\text{ Mbps}) and (600\text{ Mbps}).
Active User Allocation: If every user is actively streaming or downloading at exactly (5\text{ Mbps}) without sharing, a single beam can support (60) to (120) continuous, simultaneous users ((300\text{ Mbps} \div 5\text{ Mbps} = 60) users).

Scaling to the Whole Satellite:
Satellites multiply their capacity by reusing the same (100\text{ MHz}) bandwidth across tens or hundreds of spot beams directed at different geographic areas simultaneously (frequency reuse). If a high-throughput Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite utilizes 100 simultaneous beams, it can support between (6,000) and (12,000) simultaneous active users across the globe.

Thoughts on recent all hands and VS future with hopefully F2 and F3 operational?

Are there any specific performance review for leadership? Rooting for RIFing Girish?

Why don't they eliminate all of the satellite offices and remote employees first? There are some directors, senior directors and VPs that hide at home all the time, some that wear the same clothes days on end that are never in the office. They hide with background pictures of their office, and while their leadership knows it, leadership isn't strong enough to do anything about it. So just fire them. If you are not in one of the 3 campuses, then you should not have a job.

https://share.google/Kc6FpT81a0YcOUM8l

Do you know what kind of Severance Package was offered?

So far only one person I know of, but we already lost a team member this quarter and may have been spared because of that.