AT&T and Corning signed a multi-year supply agreement worth more than $3 billion, with Corning providing fiber and cable for AT&T’s expansion toward 60 million fiber locations by the end of 2030. AT&T said the agreement is included in its second-quarter 2026 financial outlook and supports rising household data use and AI-driven connectivity demand. AT&T Chairman and CEO John Stankey said fiber is three times faster than satellite networks and argued that SpaceX’s proposed Starlink mobile network would face technical, economic and regulatory hurdles. SpaceX has proposed installing small cellular base stations alongside Starlink dishes at homes and businesses to supplement satellite capacity without deploying a conventional network of large cell towers. Stankey said the approach could cost as much as a traditional macro network and that companies cannot transmit cellular signals from private homes without permission unless the law changes. SpaceX recently received Federal Communications Commission approval to provide international telecommunications services, supporting plans for direct-to-cell 5G connectivity through Starlink. The FCC is scheduled to vote September 30 on whether to unlock an additional 1,000 MHz of spectrum for satellite broadband services. T-Mobile CFO Pete Osvaldik has also questioned Starlink’s competitive threat, citing the limits imposed by physics.