Weekly output: Google I/O teaser, satellite-to-phone services, passkeys, connected-home considerations, Matter

I’m spending a few days in cooler confines–Monday morning, I head to Vancouver for the second year of Web Summit’s conference there. And just like last year, I won’t have enough time to do much wandering around British Columbia’s largest city and taking in its stunningly beautiful mountains-and-sea scenery, because I have three panels to moderate over Tuesday and Wednesday (with the conference hosts paying for my hotel and reimbursing my airfare).

5/5/2026: Google Teases I/O Pregame Event. How to Watch ‘The Android Show’ on May 12, PCMag

This was one of the shortest posts I’ve written for PCMag, owing to the paucity of information in the brief teaser video Google published.

5/7/2026: FCC Chair: Starlink Isn’t Enough. We Need at Least 3 Satellite-to-Phone Services, PCMag

I spent Wednesday afternoon at the wireless trade group CTIA’s annual summit in Washington. Most of the talks on the program didn’t yield anything too newsworthy, but Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr’s appearance met that bar even though he didn’t talk about his clumsy attempts to leverage the FCC’s broadcast licensing authority to punish TV shows and TV hosts for being mean to Republicans.

5/7/2026: Passkey-Adoption Report Finds Many Orgs Don’t Know How to Quit Passwords, PCMag

I had an advance copy of this FIDO Alliance survey but didn’t have time to write it up in advance; fortunately, Thursday did have enough idle time for me to get this post written and filed.

5/8/2026: Smart Homes In Practice: Bridging Design, Integration, And Market Promises With Real Human-Centered Living Outcomes, Smarter Infrastructure Summit

I had a brief trip to Chicago–well, its suburb Rosemont–for this small conference. I was a late addition to this panel, in which moderator Lisa An Wong quizzed me and architect Stephen Yas and connect-home integrator Corey Ardell about ways to get homes and the appliances in them thoughtfully wired.

5/9/2026: Matter Smart Home Standard Still Looks Immaterial At Retail, Smarter Infrastructure Summit

The title of this talk I did mirrors the story I did for PCMag almost three years ago; that post caught the attention of the conference organizers, and the chance to revisit the topic and get in some practice with doing a solo presentation led me to accept their travel-expenses-covered invitation.

#AmazonLeo #AndroidShow #ASTSpaceMobile #BrendanCarr #CTIA #CTIASummit #FIDOAlliance #Globalstar #GoogleIO #Matter #passkeys #passwords #SmarterInfrastructureSummit #Starlink #Vancouver #WebSummitVancouver #YVR
Schedule - Web Summit Vancouver - May 11-14, 2026

Check out the talks taking place at Web Summit Vancouver 2026. Get a first look at the conversations that will define the year ahead, from the future of AI to a new era of sustainability.

Web Summit Vancouver
MDA Space continues work on Gateway robotic arm

MDA Space is continuing work on a robotic arm for the lunar Gateway while it discusses the future of the project with the Canadian Space Agency.

SpaceNews

🇺🇸 Amazon официально объявила о покупке Globalstar за $9,4 млрд (по $90 за акцию), фактически спасая свой спутниковый проект LEO, который заметно отставал от Starlink.

Сделка решает сразу несколько критических задач: компания получает доступ к уже развернутой орбитальной группировке и лицензированному частотному спектру, а также снижает регуляторные риски, связанные со срывом сроков развертывания собственной сети.

Ключевой технологический апгрейд — запуск системы Direct-to-Device (D2D) к 2028 году. Она позволит стандартным смартфонам подключаться к спутникам напрямую без дополнительного оборудования, обеспечивая голосовую связь и передачу данных в зонах без покрытия сотовых сетей.

Отдельный стратегический слой — участие Apple, которая ранее инвестировала в Globalstar и уже использует её инфраструктуру для функции экстренной связи на iPhone. В новой конфигурации Amazon LEO может стать базовым провайдером спутниковых сервисов для будущих поколений iPhone и Apple Watch.

Фактически формируется альянс, направленный на сдерживание доминирования SpaceX в сегменте спутникового интернета.

Для рынка это позитивный сигнал: усиление конкуренции в спутниковой связи обычно приводит к ускорению внедрения технологий и давлению на стоимость услуг в долгосрочной перспективе.

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Хэштеги

#Amazon #Globalstar #Starlink #SpaceX #Apple #iPhone #AppleWatch #SatelliteInternet #LEO #D2D #DirectToDevice #СпутниковаяСвязь #Технологии #Космос #Интернет #Связь #BigTech #Конкуренция #Инновации #5G #Телеком #Orbital #SatCom #FutureTech

Times of India | FCC rejects SpaceX request, tells Elon Musk's company: We dismiss, with prejudice, the portions of SpaceX’s various applications to ...

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

The Federal Communications Commission denied SpaceX’s applications to use the 1.6 GHz, 2.4 GHz, and 1.5 GHz/1.6 GHz bands that are currently licensed exclusively to Globalstar (and Iridium) for mobile satellite services, stating there is no policy or public‑interest justification to alter the existing licensing framework. The FCC emphasized that Globalstar’s investment in direct‑to‑device services—such as emergency messaging on Apple iPhones—and its proven use of the spectrum would be jeopardized by additional operators, which could cause harmful interference. Both SpaceX’s and Iridium’s petitions to modify the Big LEO band plan were deemed unconvincing, and the commission dismissed them “with prejudice,” maintaining the long‑standing certainty and stability of the current spectrum allocation.

Read more: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/fcc-rejects-spacex-request-tells-elon-musks-company-we-dismiss-with-prejudice-the-portions-of-spacexs-various-applications-to-/articleshow/130651149.cms

#SpaceX #ElonMusk #FCC #Globalstar #Starlink

FCC rejects SpaceX request, tells Elon Musk's company: We dismiss, with prejudice, the portions of SpaceX’s various applications to ... - The Times of India

Tech News News: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rejected SpaceX's request to tap the 1.6/2.4GHz radio spectrum that Globalstar uses for its satellite .

The Times of India

🛰️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫

#amazon #globalstar #satellite #space
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_oHEJM27mQ&list=PLVz16niX2rGe3-uBlgX5ZNiH4PNaa3kwa&index=1&pp=iAQBsAgC

The Real Reason Amazon Bought Globalstar

YouTube

🛰️ 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭 - 𝐄𝐩. 151 #𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 #𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 #𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞

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FCC throws out satellite spectrum challenges as D2D dealmaking heats up

The Federal Communications Commission has moved to lock down incumbent rights to Mobile Satellite Service spectrum, dismissing bids by SpaceX and others to access frequencies increasingly prized for direct-to-device connectivity.

SpaceNews
Amazon has acquired Globalstar and is going to expand its Leo Satellite network. This means Amazon has officially become a utility, and honestly, it was only a matter of time. What does this mean for the future of communications? And especially as a rival to Starlink? Let’s discuss! Episode 351 of The Cloud Pod, out now. #TheCloudPod #Globalstar #LeoSatelliteNetwork
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Amazon’s Globalstar move strengthens its D2D push and Apple link. It still doesn’t solve the launch bottleneck — and that’s why Starlink remains ahead.

https://spacetech.industryexaminer.com/amazon-globalstar-deal-starlink-launch-bottleneck/
#SpaceTech #SatelliteInternet #Amazon #Globalstar #AmazonLeo #Starlink #SpaceX #Apple #TechNews