Drew FitzGerald

Hackers linked to Chinese intelligence used precision strikes to quietly compromise cellphone lines used by an array of senior national security and policy officials across the U.S. government in addition to politicians. This access allowed them to scoop up call logs, unencrypted texts and some audio from potentially thousands of Americans and others with whom they interacted.

DirecTV agreed to buy Dish from owner EchoStar for a nominal $1, plus the assumption of roughly $9.8 billion in debt. That merger depends on an agreement with bondholders to write off about $1.6 billion of the Dish obligations as well as approval from multiple federal regulators. Merging Dish with DirecTV would bolster both brands’ profits as their customer bases erode. The deal would create the largest U.S.

Verizon is in advanced talks to acquire Frontier Communications in a deal that would bolster the company’s fiber network to compete with rivals including AT&T. A deal would be sizable, given Frontier’s market value of over $7 billion. The company, cobbled together by several deals over the years, provides broadband connections to about three million locations across 25 states. Verizon, the top cellphone carrier by subscribers, has faced increased pressure from competitors and from cable TV companies that offer discounted wireless service backed by Verizon’s own cellular network.

T-Mobile is sneaking into the cable industry’s backyard. The second-biggest cellphone carrier by subscribers has pieced together at least five partnerships with fiber-optic internet providers that could serve millions of customers in the coming years.

Two of the nation’s major telecommunications companies are feuding over a plan to boost service for police, firefighters and other state and local agencies—a move Verizon Communications says would amount to a $14 billion gift to rival AT&T.

AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon made more money from providing wireless services in the third quarter of 2023 compared with the prior year as they added phone lines and nudged many clients toward more expensive plans. The boost in service revenue helped offset weaker equipment sales as purchases of pricey phones slowed at their stores and websites. “Customers are holding on to their phones longer,” said Tony Skiadas, finance chief for Verizon, the country’s largest wireless carrier by subscribers.

Fifth-generation wireless networks have spread faster and farther than some early advocates predicted, but the technology—despite hundreds of billions of dollars invested worldwide—hasn’t revolutionized whole swaths of the economy the way past mobile technologies did. In the US, about 43% of people had 5G mobile subscriptions as of June, ranking 10th worldwide. Hong Kong had the world’s highest 5G penetration rate, with 74% of its population subscribed to the mobile service.

Big telecommunications companies are working to reassure investors about two burdens: toxic lead and heavy debt. Questions about the latter are lingering in the background as AT&T and Verizon use their quarterly earnings reports to address more immediate questions about lead-lined cables.

Cellphone carriers facing roughly $200 million in fines for sharing their customers’ locations are for now shielded from paying by the Federal Communications Commission’s partisan deadlock. The FCC has four commissioners—two Democrats and two Republicans—and needs at least three votes to move forward with fines it proposed years ago on the biggest wireless-service providers.

The decades-old satellite industry is setting its sights on a target that until lately looked unreachable: the everyday smartphone. Better technology has convinced a who’s-who of aerospace stalwarts—plus some startups barely a few years old—to develop satellite networks that can talk to smartphones and other small gadgets on the ground.