Groundwave Weekly — Aug 06, 2026

The boundary between terrestrial and orbital networks eroded again this week. Navigation satellites moved closer to GPS, cellular satellites multiplied, and the Federal Communications Commission considered allowing ordinary Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices to reach orbit. None of these systems is ubiquitous yet—but spectrum permissions, deployed hardware and receiver support now matter more than demonstrations.

• Pulsar (Xona Space Systems): SatNews reported on August 3 that the FCC authorized Xona’s planned constellation of more than 250 low-Earth-orbit navigation satellites.
• BlueBird 11, 12 and 13 (AST SpaceMobile): AST SpaceMobile said the three cellular-broadband satellites launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 on August 5.
• Marlinks-NS (Erick Eduardo Ramirez-Torres and collaborators): The researchers released the North Sea fiber-sensing dataset on July 30, pairing cable vibrations with vessel-location data.

Xona now has permission to build a private counterpart to GPS. SatNews reported that the FCC authorized Xona Space Systems to deploy Pulsar, a planned constellation of more than 250 low-Earth-orbit satellites broadcasting a proprietary positioning, navigation and timing signal near established GPS frequencies. (FCC Clears Xona’s Pulsar LEO Constellation to Broadcast Navigation Signals)

This matters more than another navigation demonstration. GPS satellites orbit much farther from Earth, so their signals arrive weak and remain vulnerable to jamming or imitation. Xona says Pulsar’s lower orbit should deliver stronger signals, potentially giving critical infrastructure and military systems another source for location and precise timing. (FCC Clears Xona’s Pulsar LEO Constellation to Broadcast Navigation Signals)

If receivers adopt Pulsar, GPS resilience becomes a commercial product rather than solely a government program. Timing equipment could compare independent signals, while vehicles and tactical systems could fall back to Pulsar when GPS behaves suspiciously—the operational problem explored in War on the Rocks’ analysis of navigation when GPS goes dark.

But authorization does not create an ecosystem. Failure looks like satellites broadcasting to a small collection of specialized receivers while mainstream equipment ignores them. The signal to watch is not another launch announcement; it is Xona disclosing receiver integrations, production hardware and customers willing to place Pulsar inside operational timing chains.

The FCC may open the path from Wi-Fi devices to orbit. Its August 6 agenda includes a vote on whether to begin writing rules for satellite links in more than 225 megahertz of unlicensed spectrum. The proposal covers the 902–928 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands used by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and countless Internet of Things devices. (The FCC is considering satellite links for unlicensed devices)

That would push direct-to-device satellite connectivity far beyond phones. Farm sensors, shipping containers, utility equipment and emergency beacons could communicate without carrying conventional cellular modems or subscribing to exclusive mobile spectrum.

The trade-off is interference. Unlicensed devices succeed because they transmit at modest power and tolerate noisy neighbors; a satellite footprint can cover hundreds of kilometers and hear an enormous number of those neighbors simultaneously. The FCC must decide whether operators need conventional licenses, blanket permission or a “license by rule” system. (The FCC is considering satellite links for unlicensed devices)

If the proceeding succeeds, unlicensed spectrum becomes a low-cost satellite access layer. If interference objections carve it into narrow exceptions, it becomes a collection of specialized links rather than a general platform. Watch whether the FCC advances the proposal—and whether Wi-Fi, satellite and mobile interests seek one framework or incompatible protections.

Three more cellular base stations are now headed for orbit. AST SpaceMobile said BlueBird 11, 12 and 13 launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral on August 5. The company says BlueBirds 14 through 16 are being prepared for another mission and that production work has advanced through satellite 42.

BlueBirds are cellular base stations with enormous electronically steered antennas. They are designed to connect ordinary phones through spectrum supplied by AST’s partners, including AT&T and Verizon, without requiring a satellite dish.

The important metric is no longer whether AST can complete a call from orbit. It is whether AST can manufacture, launch and commission enough spacecraft to turn occasional coverage windows into dependable service. Success gives AT&T and Verizon a satellite layer for places where towers are uneconomic or unavailable; failure leaves them with an impressive demonstration that customers cannot reliably use.

Antenna deployment is the immediate test. After that, watch for published service-availability data: how long phones remain connected, how handoffs work and where the new orbital cluster materially extends coverage.

T-Mobile’s nationwide 2G network is finally silent. Fierce Network reported that T-Mobile retired its second-generation GSM network on August 3. Consumer phones largely disappeared years ago; the harder-to-find survivors were alarm systems, vehicle trackers, gates, utility meters and industrial telemetry modules.

The recovered value is not the old equipment. It is spectrum, tower space, electrical power and maintenance effort that T-Mobile can redirect toward Long-Term Evolution and fifth-generation service. Modern standards carry far more traffic through the same slice of air.

A smooth shutdown means obsolete devices were replaced and the spectrum quickly reappears in newer network layers. A rough one looks like elevators, alarms and forgotten machine-to-machine systems failing only after somebody urgently needs them.

Watch for clusters of service complaints and for T-Mobile to identify where the recovered 1.9 GHz spectrum is being reused. Network sunsets are infrastructure audits conducted by unplugging the infrastructure.

The FCC could clear the way for a new round of television consolidation. Reuters reported that the FCC’s August 6 agenda includes a vote on repealing the national television ownership cap, which generally prevents one station group from reaching more than 39% of American television households. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr favors replacing the ceiling with case-by-case transaction reviews.

The National Association of Broadcasters argues that station groups need greater scale to compete with Netflix, YouTube and national technology platforms. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez argues that the cap protects competition, local control and viewpoint diversity.

If the rule disappears and survives litigation, television groups gain room for larger acquisitions even while local call signs and antennas remain in place. If courts conclude that Congress—not the FCC—controls the 39% threshold, consolidation stalls on statutory authority before economics gets a vote. (The FCC Could Put More Local Television Under Fewer Owners)

The observable signals are immediate lawsuits and transaction filings. A wave of station deals would show that broadcasters were waiting for regulatory permission, not merely complaining about streaming competition.

A private GPS neighbor moved in downstairs. Three cell towers rode a rocket. And a forgotten elevator alarm discovered that 2G had died without leaving a forwarding address.

Meanwhile, an icebreaker is measuring the North Pole for fiber while buried cable listens for ships—which is apparently what “network planning” looks like after the easy routes are gone.

Keep your spectrum clean.

Forward this to the person who still thinks the internet is mostly websites.

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