Week of December 29–January 3, 2026Telecom Intelligence: Week of December 29, 2025
The year closed with the satellite industry publishing its own report card. On December 31 SpaceX released its third annual Starlink Progress Report, a 75-page account of a breakout year: a completed first-generation direct-to-cell constellation of more than 650 satellites, service in 22 countries across 6 continents, more than 6 million customers, and 27 mobile operator partnerships worldwide. Days earlier, coverage of the FCC's year-end space policy review detailed the mechanics behind the agency's move to higher direct-to-cell power levels, including revisions to the legacy power flux density limits written for a different satellite era. With the FCC's Upper C-band auction rulemaking heading toward a January 5 comment deadline, the quiet holiday week was really a starting line for 2026.