Satellite

SpaceX has introduced a $10-per-month plan for existing Starlink users in the US, giving subscribers a cheaper way to use the satellite technology as a backup internet solution. The catch is that the $10 plan caps the monthly data to a mere 10GB.

SpaceX's Starlink is imposing a severe speed cap for customers on the Priority plan that can throttle their internet speeds down to 1Mbps. The company updated Starlink.com and sent out emails about the changes, which include removing access to “Unlimited, Standard Data.” Instead, SpaceX is instituting a hard cap once a Priority user exceeds their monthly data allot

A US general is warning that China and Russia are gaining ground in their efforts to develop anti-satellite weaponry, which includes using "dogfighting" tactics to stalk and attack US satellites.  “We're also now starting to see our near peers focusing on practicing dogfighting in space," says General Michael Guetlein, the vice chief for the US Space Force.

Verizon and T-Mobile are at it again, and this time, it’s more about what’s above their terrestrial networks than what’s on the ground. To be sure, these two have been at each other’s throats for years, primarily because Verizon made a reputation for itself as the carrier with the “best network” and T-Mobile, long known as a network laggard, set its sights on upending that.

As Starlink continues its rapid expansion around the globe, governments across the Pacific are responding with a mix of enthusiasm and caution to Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider. While many welcome the service for its ability to bring reliable, high-speed connections to some of the most remote places on Earth, the arrival of the global tech giant is also raising concerns over regulatory oversight, infrastructure investment risks and data security.

T-Mobile has won a BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division Fast-Track SWIFT challenge brought by Verizon, related to T-Mobile’s claim to be the “first and only” U.S. wireless provider to work with Starlink to provide satellite-powered text messaging. Fast-Track SWIFT challenges enable NAD to review single-issue advertising issues.  In this case, a statement, made at T-Mobile’s website and in a LinkedIn post, said that  “T-Mobile is the first and only U.S.

Donald Trump’s commerce secretary touted Elon Musk’s Starlink to federal officials in charge of a $42 billion rural broadband programme, raising new questions about the billionaire White House adviser’s conflicts of interest. In a private meeting in the Herbert Hoover building near the White House, Secretary Howard Lutnick told civil servants at the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) programme to increase the project’s use of satellite connectivity — over fibre-optic cable — and singled out Musk’s provider, Starlink.

The White House is working to “improve Wi-Fi connectivity,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. According to The New York Times, it’s using Starlink to address the issue, which White House officials blame on the property’s spotty cell service and “overtaxed” Wi-Fi infrastructure. Huh.

Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is now accessible across the White House campus. It is the latest installation of the Wi-Fi network across the government since Mr. Musk joined the Trump administration as an unpaid adviser. It was not immediately clear when the White House complex was fitted with Starlink after President Trump took office for a second term. Starlink terminals, rectangular panels that receive internet signals beamed from SpaceX satellites in low-Earth orbit, can be placed on physical structures.

In recent years, a new dimension of International Relations has begun to emerge. It involves not only the traditional actors of diplomacy, but also fosters dialogue between states and the private tech industry. This new form of interaction is referred to as “Tech Diplomacy” or (increasingly) Techplomacy. This emergent way of practicing International Relations was spurred by the unprecedented influence induced by the giant Technological Companies.