Telecom news: Zayo, Starlink, Blue Origin, SpaceX, AST SpaceMobile

Today’s telecom news includes announcements on Zayo, Starlink, Blue Origin, SpaceX, AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7, among others. Zayo Lands Anchor Deal to Fast-Track Massive AI Network Expansion Zayo has secured a key anchor customer to accelerate the rollout of high-capacity fiber infrastructure across major AI-driven connectivity corridors. The agreement underpins a large-scale investment involving 8,000 route miles of new builds and upgrades, aimed at meeting surging bandwidth demand from AI and cloud workloads. The expansion includes six new long-haul routes and multiple overbuilds across high-demand U.S. corridors such as Dallas–Atlanta and Chicago–New Orleans. With construction already underway, the initiative marks the company’s largest network investment to date and significantly exceeds its earlier expansion targets. The move reflects intensifying capacity constraints and the rapid concentration of AI-driven data traffic in strategic markets. Starlink Outage Disrupts U.S. Drone Tests, Raising Pentagon Dependence Concerns A global outage of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network disrupted a U.S. Navy test involving unmanned vessels, highlighting vulnerabilities in military operations dependent on commercial satellite systems. The disruption, lasting nearly an hour, caused more than two dozen autonomous boats to lose connectivity and become inoperable during a key exercise. Reports also pointed to earlier performance issues under heavy data loads in multi-drone scenarios. The incident underscores the Pentagon’s increasing reliance on SpaceX for communications and operational support. While Starlink delivers cost-efficient, global coverage, experts caution that dependence on a single private provider could create strategic and national security risks in critical missions. Blue Origin Tests Reusability in High Stakes New Glenn Launch Blue Origin is preparing for the third launch of its New Glenn rocket, aiming to prove booster reusability, a crucial step in reducing launch costs and competing with SpaceX. Scheduled for April 17, the mission will deploy AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite into low Earth orbit to support a space based cellular network. The launch will reuse a booster from a previous flight, marking a major test of reliability and turnaround capability. Success would demonstrate meaningful progress in closing the gap with SpaceX’s established reuse model and strengthen Blue Origin’s position in the commercial launch market