Drew FitzGerald

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.

The government’s $42.5 billion plan to expand internet service to underserved communities is stuck in a holding pattern nearly nine months after approval, largely because authorities still don’t know where gaps need to be filled.

As Russian artillery fire rained on Mariupol, Ukraine, the largest mobile-network operator in the country said repair crews worked to keep its last working cellular tower in the city from going offline for a few extra days.

AT&T offered more concrete plans for its telecommunications operations after it abandons the entertainment business, detailing goals to drop old copper telephone networks and build new fiber-optic lines. AT&T said it would focus its investments on fifth-generation wireless network connections and fiber-optic lines. To that end, the company said it would cut its network of copper lines—a legacy of its landline telephone network—in half by 2025, allowing the company to serve 75 percent of its network footprint using 5G and fiber.

Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen said unexpected technical issues have delayed the rollout of his company’s new fifth-generation mobile network but vowed to have basic service ready before a government-ordered coverage deadline hits in June 2022. “We’re six months behind, and it’s my fault,” Ergen said.

Attackers have commandeered thousands of TracFone customers’ phone numbers in recent weeks, forcing new owner Verizon Communications to improve safeguards less than two months after it took over the prepaid wireless provider. TracFone offers prepaid wireless service under several brands—including Straight Talk, Total Wireless, and its namesake brand.