Oct 18, 2026 · 9 min · 8 segments
In this week’s episode of The Broadband Exchange, we look at the SpaceX purchase of Grain Management spectrum, and more. ### Chapters - (00:00:04) - Intro - (00:00:19) - SpaceX spectrum deal for…
Ian DescherHost
We'll start with SpaceX, which made another move toward its goal of connecting ordinary mobile phones directly to satellites.
Grain Management announced an agreement to sell SpaceX its entire nationwide portfolio of 800 MHz spectrum.
The low-band frequencies would support Starlink Mobile and its plans to provide direct-to-device connectivity from space, complementing terrestrial wireless networks.
Grain acquired the spectrum from T-Mobile in August, exchanging cash and its own 600 MHz spectrum.
The new spectrum agreement offers another piece of the infrastructure SpaceX wants to assemble for that business.
Another wireless announcement involved a very different approach to making home internet affordable.
New provider uWiFi launched a 5G fixed wireless internet service with standard pricing starting at $55 per month.
But its unusual pitch is that subscribers can reduce their bill potentially to zero by voluntarily watching advertisements through an app called FreeU.
uWiFi also introduced a gateway with automatic failover that it said can switch among major national 5G networks if the current connection fails.
The company announced a strategic partnership with T-Mobile and described its equipment as plug-and-play with no technician visit required.
Of course, the service is new and the company's claims about savings and network performance will have to play out in practice.
We'll start with SpaceX, which made another move toward its goal of connecting ordinary mobile phones directly to satellites.
Grain Management announced an agreement to sell SpaceX its entire nationwide portfolio of 800 MHz spectrum.
The low-band frequencies would support Starlink Mobile and its plans to provide direct-to-device connectivity from space, complementing terrestrial wireless networks.
Grain acquired the spectrum from T-Mobile in August, exchanging cash and its own 600 MHz spectrum.
The new spectrum agreement offers another piece of the infrastructure SpaceX wants to assemble for that business.
Another wireless announcement involved a very different approach to making home internet affordable.
New provider uWiFi launched a 5G fixed wireless internet service with standard pricing starting at $55 per month.
But its unusual pitch is that subscribers can reduce their bill potentially to zero by voluntarily watching advertisements through an app called FreeU.
uWiFi also introduced a gateway with automatic failover that it said can switch among major national 5G networks if the current connection fails.
The company announced a strategic partnership with T-Mobile and described its equipment as plug-and-play with no technician visit required.
Of course, the service is new and the company's claims about savings and network performance will have to play out in practice.
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