Starlink

Deutsche Telekom Doubles Buyback, Calm on Starlink Threat

Deutsche Telekom said it will more than double its ongoing share buyback by up to €3 billion to a total of up to €5 billion, and together with dividends expects to return as much as €10 billion to shareholders in 2026. The Bonn-based group reported revenue of €29.93 billion (up 4.4%) and adjusted operating profit of €11.82 billion (up 7.5%), with free cash flow of €5.03 billion (up 3.1%). Tim Höttges called competition from Starlink manageable, saying satellite signals cannot reliably guarantee in-building coverage and Starlink currently holds only a fraction of spectrum capacity. The IT services unit T-Systems saw new orders fall 6.6% to €4.1 billion; a consortium including T-Systems won a €250 million federal contract. Analysts read the bigger buyback as reducing the likelihood of a merger with US sister company T-Mobile US.

Lyft and United Push Mobility as New Media Channel

Lyft and United Airlines are promoting 'mobility media'—the idea that time spent in transit (rideshares and flights) is an underutilized advertising channel. The companies discussed an expanded partnership (allowing MileagePlus members to redeem United miles for Lyft rides), Lyft’s in-app ad opportunities (users spend ~24 minutes per ride), and United’s first-party data advantages from its 175 million annual flyers. United plans a full Starlink Wi‑Fi rollout across its fleet by 2027, while Lyft is expanding in Europe via recent acquisitions and pursuing AV partnerships. Both firms say they are working to standardize measurement, product features and advertiser workflows to establish mobility as a recognized media category in brand planning and budgets.

FTC clears Musk to buy Mesh Optical Technologies

The Federal Trade Commission has cleared Elon Musk to acquire Mesh Optical Technologies, a startup founded last year by three former SpaceX engineers that builds optical hardware for high-speed data center communications. The potential deal was disclosed in an FTC filing and first reported by Bloomberg, and the agency expedited its antitrust review. Mesh came out of stealth in February after raising a $50 million Series A led by Thrive Capital. The startup’s co-founders — Travis Brashears, Cameron Ramos and Serena Grown-Haeberli — previously developed the optical links used by SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. SpaceX has recently struck compute agreements with Anthropic, Google and Reflection AI; acquiring Mesh could help SpaceX improve the energy efficiency and speed of its terrestrial (and potentially future in-space) data centers.