Week of July 19–25, 2026Weekly Telecom Intelligence: July 19–25, 2026
This week the FCC adopted a major satellite licensing overhaul, replacing legacy Part 25 with a new Part 100 intended to speed and standardize approvals. Concurrently Iridium reaffirmed its June 28 merger agreement with Rocket Lab and expects the deal to close in mid 2027, while DARPA began a yearlong in orbit servicing demonstration and Crown Castle updated Q2 outlooks amid portfolio shifts. Taken together these items point to accelerating commercialization and vertical integration across satellite and infrastructure stacks, and to new operational and compliance requirements for wholesale players. For MVNEs and MVNOs the net is clearer: faster satellite product time to market, more integrated supplier options, and additional contract work to manage data and lifecycle obligations.