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.
Space, supply chains, and steady growth defined the week. On August 5 AST SpaceMobile agreed to acquire global S-band spectrum priority rights held under the International Telecommunication Union, deepening its direct-to-device arsenal. On August 6 Apple announced an additional 100 billion dollars in US manufacturing investment, bringing its domestic commitment to 600 billion over four years as tariff pressure reshapes device supply chains. And on August 7 Deutsche Telekom raised its full-year guidance again on the strength of T-Mobile US, underscoring how thoroughly the American market drives the German group's results.