February closed with devices, broadband subsidies, and European money all pointing in the same direction: scale wins. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 series at its Unpacked event in San Francisco on February 25, and Boost Mobile pounced the same day with preorder offers of up to $1,000 off, showing how device launch windows have become carrier customer-acquisition events. In Washington, the Commerce Department approved BEAD spending plans for Washington state and Alaska, bringing the total to 47 states, with Alaska notably allocating about a third of its $629 million to low earth orbit satellite service, a milestone for Starlink's role in subsidized rural broadband. And in Bonn, Deutsche Telekom posted record full-year results on February 26, driven overwhelmingly by T-Mobile US, whose $71.3 billion in service revenue now powers a record dividend for German shareholders.
America voted, and telecom's regulatory map was redrawn overnight. Donald Trump's November 5 victory put the FCC on course for a Republican majority, revived questions about the BEAD broadband program and spectrum auction authority, and made net neutrality's days visibly numbered. The industry did not wait to digest it: UScellular sold a billion dollars of spectrum to AT&T as its breakup continued, Bell Canada reached across the border with a C$7 billion deal for Ziply Fiber, and Qualcomm closed its fiscal year with proof the handset market is finally growing again.