Episode 255 of the 6G Podcast features Anshel Sag and Mike Dano discussing major 5G/6G and satellite developments. They cover Verizon’s standalone 5G winning BMW telematics business via KDDI, highlighting shifting connected-car partnerships and growing connectivity demands for autonomy and V2X. The biggest news is T-Mobile’s leadership reshuffle under incoming CEO Srini Gopalan, expanding John Saw’s responsibilities, hiring former AT&T FirstNet architect Chris Sambar as chief enterprise officer, and signaling Mike Katz’s exit. They examine Telstra’s nationwide outage in Australia tied to network timekeeping software, which disrupted emergency calls and broader services. Research notes include Analysys Mason finding mobile data traffic growth rebounding to 22% by end of 2025, driven by fixed wireless access and adaptive bitrate streaming. The episode also reviews SpaceX’s FCC request for up to 100,000 Gen3 Starlink satellites, plus Ookla analysis suggesting US networks allocate relatively little uplink capacity, a potential issue as AI increases uplink demand.

00:00 Welcome and Catch Up

01:17 Verizon BMW Connected Cars

04:17 T-Mobile Leadership Shakeup

10:24 Telstra Outage Fallout

16:10 Mobile Traffic Growth Returns

19:32 Starlink Gen3 100K Satellites

25:02 AI Networks Need Uplink

30:47 Wrap Up and Subscribe

In episode 254 of the 6G podcast, Anshel Sag and Mike Danow discuss major telecom and space-industry developments. Sag covers T-Mobile forcing customers off older plans with roughly $4-per-line increases and potential competitive fallout, plus a Verizon–BT 50/50 joint venture combining international enterprise operations serving 3,000 customers in 180 countries with about $4B in revenue, and renewed reporting about a rumored SpaceX/xAI handheld AI device that Elon Musk denies. Danow focuses on spectrum and satellite trends: the FCC’s planned upper C-band auction next summer for 160 MHz nationwide with commercial use delayed until 2030–2031, Rocket Lab’s announced $8B acquisition of Iridium emphasizing L-band spectrum for direct-to-device services, and the FCC approving Grain Management’s plan to lease divested 800 MHz spectrum for D2D, with interest hinted from AST SpaceMobile and results due by November 5.

00:00 Welcome and Catch Up

01:27 T-Mobile Plan Price Hike

04:43 FCC Upper C Band Auction

07:42 Verizon BT Enterprise JV

11:17 Rocket Lab Buys Iridium

17:09 SpaceX AI Device Rumor

19:36 Grain 800 MHz D2D Leasing

26:21 Wrap Up and Holiday

Anshel Sag and Mike Dano open episode 253 of the 6G Podcast and discuss World Cup stadium technology, including Lenovo’s FIFA partnership, referee camera headsets using 5G mmWave, Eagle Eye camera systems for offsides/goal-line decisions, 3D player avatars, digital ticketing, and Ookla findings that Mercedes-Benz Stadium leads in connectivity with no major issues so far. They review updates from the 3GPP meeting in Singapore, confirming a 6G timeline with stage 3 freeze in December 2028 and open API freeze in March 2029, while noting many decisions (Open RAN and satellite integration) were deferred. They cover the new Space Connect LEO satellite alliance (Amazon, Iridium, Telesat, Globalstar) and the close of FCC Auction 113 (AWS-3) raising $3.5B with 17 bidders including SpaceX. They highlight Nokia/T-Mobile pre-commercial MIMO gains of up to 20% throughput and conclude with Carolina West Wireless exiting and transitioning to Verizon by September. 00:00 Welcome Back Episode 253 01:05 World Cup Tech Showcase 03:57 Stadium Connectivity Reality 07:50 3GPP 6G Timeline Update 10:29 Satellites in 6G Debate 15:02 New LEO Lobby Alliance 19:41 AWS-3 Auction Results 27:09 Nokia T-Mobile MIMO Boost 32:12 Small Carriers Consolidate 37:23 Wrap Up And Subscribe