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Elon Musk’s Starlink takes the fight to Dish Network over broadband concerns
Elon Musk’s Starlink and Dish Network are currently butting heads at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over the latter’s attempt to block an essential designation that SpaceX needs to get FCC broadband funding. Dish filed a petition against Starlink in late February, and a few days ago, SpaceX issued its response.
The dispute between the two companies is related to a number of FCC proceedings, including a petition from Starlink seeking designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) under the Communications Act. This designation is required in some states where SpaceX won funding to deploy its satellite-based internet to 642,925 underserved homes and businesses in 35 states. Dish Network, for its part, has asked the FCC to deny the private space firm the needed status in the 12 GHz band.
What’s interesting is that Dish is a satellite TV provider, which means that it is not even a direct competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink service. Dish is building a 5G mobile broadband network that could eventually use spectrum from the 12 GHz band that the company currently uses for its satellite TV services. Thus, Dish notes that if SpaceX also uses 12 GHz frequencies, Starlink could result in interference.
“Dish does not object to ETC status for SpaceX based on its access to other frequency bands. But, to the extent that the requested ETC designation is based on the 12 GHz band, it should be denied or deferred, pending the resolution of the DBS interference concerns arising in that band from SpaceX’s proposed modification of its satellite system, and the sharing questions presented in the Commission’s recently initiated 12 GHz rulemaking,” Dish wrote.
SpaceX’s response to Dish’s request to the FCC was equally sharp, noting that the satellite TV provider’s opposition is without merit. The Elon Musk-led firm noted that Dish’s efforts would only result in delaying what really matters most for Starlink–providing high-speed internet access to those who need it the most.
“Dish’s Opposition ignores and conflicts with the Commission’s clear decision to permit applicants for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (“RDOF”) Phase I auction to rely on spectrum in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band (“12 GHz band”) to meet their RDOF obligations. This facially spurious filing is only the latest example of DISH’s abuse of Commission resources in its misguided effort to expropriate the 12 GHz band. The Commission should reject Dish’s Opposition as a baseless attempt to obstruct the ETC and RDOF processes, the result of which would serve only to delay what matters most—connecting unserved Americans,” SpaceX noted.
The private space enterprise also noted that Dish’s arguments reveal a goal to obstruct and hamstring a competitor, especially since the FCC had already decided to let ISPs utilize the 12 GHz band for subsidized broadband connections. “DISH’s argument now that its opposition to the modification somehow renders those Commission decisions meaningless is nonsensical,” SpaceX wrote.
Read Dish’s FCC filing against Starlink below.
(as Filed) DISH Opposition to SpaceX ETC Designation by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
SpaceX’s response to Dish’s FCC request could be accessed below.
Reply to DISH Opposition to ETC (03!01!2021) by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
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For years, there have been images and videos across social media platforms that have reminded me of when I was a 15-year-old kid teased by “Xbox 720” videos on YouTube. These videos are of the supposed “Tesla Phone” that Elon Musk was secretly developing in between leading Tesla with its electric cars and SpaceX with its reusable rockets.
Would you buy a Tesla phone ? pic.twitter.com/aaTwvvIJit
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 6, 2023
Although Musk has put those rumors to bed several times, it was never completely out of the realm that he could get involved in cell phones in some capacity. Think outside the box and more macro-level, though. Instead of reinventing the computer, Musk reinvented connectivity by developing Starlink with SpaceX.
It could be something similar, TD Cowen analyst Gregory Williams said in a note last week, where he hinted SpaceX could be gathering some steam to acquire T-Mobile.
Williams said it would be the “clear choice” for SpaceX if it decided to go through with a network acquisition. He also suggested AT&T.
The move would be possible through selling more of its own stock, which would help SpaceX raise the money to purchase T-Mobile, which would cost roughly $300 billion. It could be one of the moves SpaceX makes post-IPO in terms of an acquisition: it already acquired Cursor AI for $60 billion.
Other analysts, like Dan Ives of Wedbush, believe SpaceX and Tesla will eventually merge into one anyway, and that conglomeration could come as soon as this year, some have said.
The implications of SpaceX purchasing T-Mobile are massive. A combined entity would create a truly ubiquitous network: T-Mobile’s terrestrial 5G towers and Starlink’s growing constellation of Direct-to-Cell satellites. This would essentially eliminate dead zones across the U.S. and potentially globally.
SpaceX would instantly become a full-scale facilities-based carrier with satellite differentiation; a huge advantage. This would pressure AT&T and Verizon heavily.
There are also concerns like a potential reduction in long-term competition, and of course, a deal of that size would face intense scrutiny from government agencies.
The strategic fit is compelling due to the existing Starlink–T-Mobile partnership and complementary technologies (space + terrestrial). It could create a dominant integrated communications player. However, the regulatory, financial, and execution hurdles are enormous — this remains highly speculative with no indication SpaceX is actively pursuing it right now.
Tesla revealed a major new Cybercab detail in a guide it released for First Responders, showing new territory in its beliefs and intentions for the ride-hailing-focused vehicle that entered production in April.
The First Responders Guide is released to give fire departments, paramedics, and other emergency personnel the proper guidance on what to do in the event of an accident, entrapment, or other situation that would require immediate attention.
On one of the pages of the First Responders Guide, Tesla revealed a stark detail about the Cybercab, which could help personnel enter the vehicle more easily in case of an emergency.
Tesla Cybercab has one important piece that AI4 cars might need for FSD
It shows Tesla has no intention of releasing any Cybercab units that were initially proposed for ride-hailing services for the general public with any manual controls, meaning a steering wheel or pedals:
“A Cybercab equipped with steering wheel, brake pedal, and an acceleration pedal is typically an engineering or test vehicle, and operates at SAE Level 2 autonomy. Cybercab is not typically equipped with a steering wheel or acceleration and brake pedals.”
New official Cybercab documentation from Tesla:
“A Cybercab equipped with steering wheel, brake pedal, and an acceleration pedal is typically an engineering or test vehicle, and operates at SAE Level 2 autonomy. Cybercab is not typically equipped with a steering wheel or… https://t.co/P6ut1mZyzr pic.twitter.com/yq6skl9s2J
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 27, 2026
This is a major development for those who continue to believe Tesla planned to release the Cybercab with any sort of manual controls so that passengers could take over if needed. However, when Tesla started manufacturing production versions of the Cybercab in Giga Texas earlier this year, they were spotted without a steering wheel or pedals.
It essentially confirms the company has no intentions of bringing manual controls to the car’s production versions. Some have argued that the likelihood of Tesla having something
There still are some Cybercab units out there with a steering wheel and pedals, and as Tesla said, these cars are engineering or test vehicles, which have Safety Monitors on board to help the car out of a precarious situation or emergency.
Tesla released the Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ suite to owners of Hardware 3 or AI3 vehicles today, adding several new features to the vehicles that were once believed to be capable of unsupervised self-driving.
Now, Tesla has released this modified suite to older Tesla vehicles, adding plenty of new features and capabilities.
Here are the full release notes for the suite:
- Distilled the intelligence from HW4 V14 into HW3. This allows HW3 to directly learn how to handle scenarios using HW4 V14 as a guide. This process unlocks the improvements that have been made to HW4 including Reinforcement Learning (RL) and offline models for HW3.
- Improved both proactive and reactive responsiveness across a wide variety of categories including navigation handling, merges and forks, pedestrian interactions, traffic lights, and vehicle cut-in scenarios.
- Improved general comfort in nominal scenarios through fewer false slowdowns, smoother steering and more consistent lane centering.
- Introduced parking, unparking, and reversing capabilities.
- Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, or at the Curbside.
- Speed Profiles are now available at all times, to further customize driving style preference.
These improvements, according to Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, help distill the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute configurations of AI3.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ for older cars finally gets released
He added:
“It includes destination options and speed profiles on city roads, but more importantly significantly improved safety. We hope you’ll enjoy it, once the build ships wide.”
FSD v14 Lite is now rolling out to AI3 early-access customers. Based on the feedback, will rollout to more customers over the next few weeks.
This build distills the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute config of AI3. It includes destination…
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) June 29, 2026
Tesla will continue to roll out the v14 Lite suite more widely in the coming weeks, the company said.
Tesla Phone? Not quite, but close: analyst
Tesla reveals huge Cybercab detail in new guide for First Responders
