Telecom Partnership Intelligence

The Atomic Take on the partnerships shaping wireless

The telecom industry announces partnerships every day — most don't matter. These are the ones that do, with Atomic's take on what each deal means for MVNOs, MVNEs, IoT builders, and the wireless ecosystem. Reviewed and published by our editorial team.

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Acquisitions

August 3, 2026 · Developing Telecoms

PLDT, Globe & Converge propose US$500M national subsea cable to DICT

What happened

PLDT, Globe Telecom and Converge filed a proposal with the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to build a US$500 million subsea fibre network linking Batanes and Palawan, with branches to the Visayas and Mindanao and connections to international cable landing stations. DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda disclosed the proposal at a roundtable and said the submission is being evaluated as a complement to the government’s National Fiber Backbone. The plan would incorporate sensors for seismic/tsunami detection for real‑time data collection and, if approved, could be built in up to two years. (developingtelecoms.com)

The Atomic Take

Additional domestic subsea capacity and new landing interconnections can materially expand wholesale backhaul options for MVNOs, MVNEs and FWA providers serving underserved islands, potentially lowering transit costs and improving service redundancy. Because the proposal is driven by the three largest national operators, MVNEs should monitor how access and wholesale terms are structured—cooperative builds can improve national resilience but may also concentrate bargaining power and affect wholesale pricing. The inclusion of seismic/defense‑grade monitoring is notable and, in my view, increases the likelihood of tighter regulatory oversight and national‑security conditions on landing rights and operational access. (developingtelecoms.com)

Source: Developing Telecoms

July 28, 2026 · Fierce Network

AT&T completes $23B spectrum acquisition from EchoStar

What happened

AT&T closed its previously announced purchase of EchoStar’s spectrum licenses, acquiring roughly 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid‑band and about 20 MHz of 600 MHz low‑band spectrum for about $23 billion. (fierce-network.com) The FCC approved the transfers with conditions that include establishment of a $2.4 billion trust fund to compensate parties owed by Dish/EchoStar, and the closure follows related Dish/EchoStar Chapter 11 filings tied to delays in the transaction. (fierce-network.com)

The Atomic Take

This deal further concentrates valuable mid‑band capacity with a major MNO, narrowing the pool of large contiguous mid‑band blocks that alternative network operators and wholesale suppliers can rely on. (fierce-network.com) Because AT&T had already been operating much of the 3.45 GHz capacity under a lease and rapidly lit it on nearly 23,000 sites, MVNOs using AT&T wholesale access should see material network performance upside sooner than competitors who lack that access. (fierce-network.com) For MVNEs, enterprise connectivity and FWA providers the practical outcome is an incentive to pursue or deepen commercial ties with AT&T to leverage the added capacity, while the longer lead time to deploy 600 MHz (new radio development required) and FCC conditions around the closing will shape timing and commercial negotiation leverage. (fierce-network.com)

Source: Fierce Network

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