Telecom Intelligence: Week of September 8, 2025 One of the most consequential weeks of the year. On September 8 EchoStar agreed to sell its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses to SpaceX for about 17 billion dollars in cash and stock, a deal that includes a commercial agreement putting Starlink direct-to-cell service in front of Boost Mobile subscribers and effectively ends EchoStar's ambitions as a facilities-based carrier. The next day Apple unveiled the iPhone 17 lineup and the ultra-thin iPhone Air, the first iPhone sold eSIM-only in every market worldwide. By the weekend, preorders for the new lineup were breaking records, led by extraordinary demand in China.