Verizon finalised the purchase of spectrum licences from the infrastructure company comprised of the remnants of UScellular not included in the sale of the bulk of its wireless assets to T-Mobile US.

The buy from Array Digital Infrastructure signs-off a deal struck back in October 2024. It was cleared by the US Federal Communications Commission on 14 May 2026.

Approving the deal the regulator endorsed Verizon’s view the buy would help the operator provide “a better overall experience to its customers” including by enhancing rural and indoor coverage in the parts of the country the assets cover.

In addition to the sale to Verizon, Array divested $168 million of assets to T-Mobile last month and completed a $1 billion deal with AT&T for other spectrum licences in January 2026.

Array noted the latest moves “further the objective” announced in May 2024 “to opportunistically monetise remaining spectrum following the sale of the T-Mobile wireless operation”.

Its president and CEO Anthony Carlson said the company had made “significant progress in our spectrum monetisation efforts and are pleased with the value realised in this sale”.

Array owns and operates shared wireless communications infrastructure in the US, including more 4,400 cell towers across the country.

In December, the company inked a partnership with Verizon which saw the latter sign-up to use its towers to strengthen its 5G network.

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EchoStar elected to defer approximately $183 million in cash interest payments due on debt held by its Dish DBS Corporation subsidiary, citing a preference to conserve liquidity while it awaits the closing of its spectrum deal with AT&T.

According to a statement, the missed payments span three tranches of Dish DBS notes: around $72.2 million on 5.25% secured notes due 2026, $71.9 million on 5.75% secured notes due 2028 and $38.4 million on 5.125% unsecured notes due 2029.

The company stated it skipped the payments deliberately to preserve cash while it waits for the AT&T deal to close, implying it does not intend to make the payments within the grace period.

The notes were part of the broader debt load accumulated by Dish Network over years of spectrum acquisitions and satellite operations, debt which became central to EchoStar’s financial stress and its motivation to complete the $23 billion AT&T deal.

Under the terms of the relevant indentures, the non-payment is classed as a default, though EchoStar has a 30-day grace period before it formally constitutes an event of default.

EchoStar said both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the US Department of Justice granted regulatory approval for the AT&T transaction, though the FCC’s sign-off is not yet final. The company noted the closing remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of additional conditions.

The deal, announced in August 2025, will generate net proceeds of $20.25 billion according to EchoStar’s filing, reflecting adjustments and transaction costs applied to the gross figure.

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The US Space Force (USSF) granted SpaceX a $4.1 billion contract to build a constellation of birds capable of detecting and tracking airborne threats globally, which signals a shift in how the military conducts battlefield surveillance.

The competitive Other Transaction Authority agreement, announced last week (29 May) by Space Systems Command, covers the space-based airborne moving target indicator (SB-AMTI) programme.

SB-AMTI architecture integrates advanced space-based sensors, secure and rapid communication links, and resilient ground processing.

The deal tasks SpaceX with fielding an initial satellite constellation by 2028, giving joint military personnel an early capability to close what officials describe as dangerous operational blind spots.

The driving force behind the programme is a growing recognition traditional airborne platforms for tracking moving targets are increasingly vulnerable. As adversaries field more sophisticated anti-access and area-denial systems, the Pentagon has concluded a persistent, space-based sensing layer is essential.

USSF acting portfolio acquisition executive for space-based sensing and targeting Colonel Ryan Frazier, said the shift to space gives joint warfighters continuous awareness of contested airspace in a way ground or airborne systems cannot match.

He noted development and integration work is beginning immediately to meet the programme’s accelerated timeline and address pressing national security demands.

USSF has assembled a multi-vendor pool which includes numerous companies selected through the Space Systems Command’s other transaction authority agreements announced at the Space Symposium in April.

The SB-AMTI award landed several days after the USSF confirmed a separate $2.29 billion contract with SpaceX to build the Space Data Network Backbone.

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A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a test, a potential blow to AST SpaceMobile and its launch schedule.

The New Glenn explosion yesterday (28 May) at Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida will likely lead to lengthy investigations by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA, which will sideline future launches.

In late 2024, AST SpaceMobile signed a multi-launch agreement with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. It previously relied on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets to launch its birds into orbit before attempting to branch out to the larger New Glenn models.

AST SpaceMobile has predicted an orbital launch cadence of roughly every one to two months this year through deals with multiple launch providers as it continues to target having approximately 45 birds in orbit by the end of 2026.

New Glenn’s seven meter-wide payload fairing is one of the few in the industry capable of accommodating the 2,400 square-foot phased arrays of AST SpaceMobile’s Block 2 BlueBird satellites, with the potential to carry up to eight per flight.

Fallout
“The New Glenn failure is a tough blow to AST which, due to the size of its satellites, has limited options for launch and New Glenn was by far the best option,” Chris Quilty, founder and CEO of research company Quilty Space told Mobile World Live (MWL), adding the company would now struggle to achieve its launch target for the year.

Tim Farrar, president at consulting company TMF Associates, told MWL the explosion has a “huge impact since this was the primary launch vehicle and it will take a year or more to rebuild the [launch] pad”.

“I think this pushes [AST’s] continuous commercial service back to 2028,” he added.

A representative for AST SpaceMobile stated the company’s near-term launches are unaffected.

“None of the missions planned for the next few months are scheduled with Blue Origin. Our satellites are designed to be launcher-agnostic, and we have agreements in place with multiple launch providers, giving us flexibility across our launch programme.”

BlueBirds 8, 9, and 10 are already at Cape Canaveral undergoing final processing ahead of a planned launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket next month.

A launch of AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation BlueBird 7 satellite from a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket last month fell short of the required orbit, resulting in its loss.

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Boldyn Networks’ US CCO Jason Caliento said the company is making good on pledges to boost the digital experience offered at Major League Soccer (MLS) venues after equipping a new stadium in the city of Miami with various connectivity technologies.

The company installed a platform of Wi-Fi 7, IPTV, audio, neutral host mobile and converged fibre infrastructure at the Nu Stadium in the Miami Freedom Park to deliver fresh services for fans and contribute to improved operation of the venue which opened in April.

Caliento highlighted an “innovative financial structure”, whereby Boldyn Networks handled the capital investment it plans to recoup through network operation and management duties.

He said the model provides “significant financial flexibility” and predicted it would become a key selling point for deals with other venues.

Boldyn Networks explained the Nu Stadium is a 26,700-seat facility located in a mixed-use development spanning 131-acres.

It installed more than 600 access points covering high-density Wi-Fi and mobile throughout the site. Cloud-based IoT platforms are providing real-time information on crowd behaviour, and the fibre element covers game streaming and display on more than 200 connected TVs.

The company highlighted mobile ticketing, from-seat refreshment ordering and access to interactive content as among the main benefits for fans.

Caliento said Boldyn Networks became an official supplier to the MLS in a deal struck in 2025.

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