Poste Italiane acquired a controlling stake in Telecom Italia for €13.4 billion, while Paramount Skydance defended its $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery takeover against a multi-state antitrust suit. Satellite connectivity saw progress as SpaceX targeted a 2028 mobile 5G service launch and stc Group ordered a GEO satellite from Astranis. Meanwhile, Spotify expanded into AI features and video following strong growth in its audiobook unit.
01Company specific
KT Signs MOU With Amlogic for Media Terminal Chipset Supply
Vertical chipset alliances shield telecom media terminals from hardware shortages while locking in tailor-made silicon for proprietary artificial intelligence features.
KT signed a memorandum of understanding with fabless company Amlogic to establish a stable supply system for media device chipsets. The agreement was concluded at the IBC 2026 exhibition in Amsterdam. The partnership aims to against global semiconductor risks while supporting technical cooperation for advanced functions and system-on-chip solutions in KT media terminals. Alongside the chipset agreement, KT established the KT Global Coexistence Growth Pavilion at the trade show to showcase eight domestic partner companies and their products. This export support initiative follows a previous year in which KT and 18 partners secured over 180 billion Korean won in export contracts across three major international exhibitions. KT will continue its export support program by participating in the ECOC 2026 optical communication exhibition in Spain with five additional partner firms.
SpaceX Targets Mobile Direct-to-Cell Service for 2028
SpaceX acquiring EchoStar's midband spectrum bypasses carrier opposition by turning Starship's launch scale into a direct threat to traditional wireless spectrum value.
Lightreading.com reports that SpaceX expects to launch 5G quality mobile satellite services to smartphones in the first half of 2028. CFO Bret Johnsen stated at a Goldman Sachs conference that the company plans to deploy a new constellation of direct to device low Earth orbit satellites next year via Starship. The timeline slips past an earlier target of late 2027 given on an August call. SpaceX intends to use midband spectrum acquired from EchoStar with FCC approval already secured. Major US carriers including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have dismissed the strategy, arguing that physics prevents satellite services from matching terrestrial cellular performance without ground networks.
Stc Group orders dedicated Astranis satellite for Saudi Arabia
Dedicated satellite orders let regional telecom operators capture margin that would otherwise flow to bandwidth brokers, shifting the economics of satellite capacity from wholesale to captive supply.
Saudi Telecom Company ordered a dedicated Geostationary Orbit satellite from US-based manufacturer Astranis to expand its satellite communications across the Kingdom. The satellite will launch on an upcoming Falcon 9 mission under Astranis's Block 3 program. Under the agreement, stc Group retains full payload and coverage control, while data remains inside the region. The spacecraft displaces a satellite previously assigned to Mexican provider Apco Networks on the launch manifest, reflecting manufacturing flexibility across customer schedules. Astranis targets a launch window in the first quarter of 2027 for the Block 3 satellites.
Spotify Technology Outlines AI Add-Ons and Video Initiatives for Growth
Demonstrating pricing power alongside successful tiered add-ons enables streaming platforms to monetize heavy users directly rather than relying solely on broad subscription price increases.
Spotify Technology co-CEO Gustav Söderström outlined a strategy to introduce add-ons, expand video capabilities, and push into new verticals like fitness during an investor conference appearance. Söderström stated that the company's audiobook add-on business reached €100 million in roughly a year after launch, and Spotify plans to apply a similar model to upcoming AI features by offering baseline access with paid add-ons for heavy users. The platform is rebuilding its architecture to function as an intelligent media service supporting conversational interactions about music credits, touring schedules, and samples. On generative music, Söderström emphasized that Spotify aims to build legal frameworks for AI remixes and covers with the permission of rights holders, contrasting its approach with competitors focused on generating entirely new songs. The company also intends to its pricing power after finding that recent subscription price hikes did not trigger expected .
Paramount Responds to State Antitrust Lawsuit Over Skydance Merger
Federal court pressure over daily failure penalties shifts leverage from state antitrust enforcers to traditional studios trying to achieve scale against tech-backed streaming competitors.
Paramount Skydance fired back at a coalition of twelve state attorneys general seeking to block its pending of Warner Bros. Discovery, filing a point-by-point defense that calls the states case a product of outdated economic analysis. The $110 billion has already cleared sixty-eight jurisdictions, including the U.S. Department of Justice, prompting Paramount to argue that the opposing states lack proper regulatory authority. The company contends that the combined entity will enhance competition against major tech-derived streamers like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple by pooling resources for a larger content output and a stronger streaming offering. Major theater chains including AMC Theaters, Cinemark, and Regal have publicly backed the transaction, even as the lawsuit claims the deal harms exhibitors by increasing studio . Settlement talks between Paramount Skydance and California Attorney General Rob Bonta are scheduled for late October alongside the Writers Guild of America, which filed a separate challenge. Meanwhile, Paramount urged a federal court to order the states and the union to cover ongoing ticking fees of $7 million per day that activate if the merger fails to close by October.
Poste Italiane Launches Offer to Acquire Control of Telecom Italia
Combining postal operations with a telecom network turns a national logistics distribution network into a captive sales channel for domestic digital infrastructure.
Poste Italiane has crossed the finish line on a €13.4 billion tender offer to acquire control of Telecom Italia, securing roughly 66.627 percent of the operator's share . The postal and financial services group launched the voluntary offer on July 20, 2026, structuring it as a mixed cash and share deal. Facing slower than anticipated adhesion, Poste sweetened the terms on September 7 by raising the cash component to €1.97 per share while keeping the exchange ratio at 0.218 new Poste shares for every TIM share. The company also dropped its minimum acceptance threshold of 66.67 percent, though final participation ultimately cleared that target after tallying 58.2297 percent of targeted shares alongside a pre-existing 20.1 percent stake. Management participation from TIM CEO Pietro Labriola added internal weight to the acceptance numbers ahead of final results on September 17 and payment on September 18. Poste projects €700 million in annual synergies from the integration, split between €500 million in cost reductions and cheaper financing and over €200 million in gains, against €700 million in one-time restructuring costs.
TIM Tender Offer Cash Component (€)
Poste raised the cash component by €0.30 to secure control.
Major M&A activity and direct-to-cell satellite investments show legacy providers aggressively restructuring to compete with big tech. Whether regulatory pushback against media consolidation will derail these massive deals and alter competitive dynamics remains unresolved.
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