During the Mizuho Technology Conference on June 9, 2026, AT&T Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches offered his views on the evolving broadband landscape. When asked about the growing presence of satellite internet providers, Desroches maintained that space-based connectivity is a complementary tool, not a core threat.
“There is a 1% population that’s not covered today in very rural areas,” Desroches stated. “And I think satellite is a great solution for that... but within urban and suburban areas, the infrastructure that is in place is better. It is the cost per bit to deliver that is cheaper.”
From the perspective of a tier-one telecom operator managing a $176 billion connectivity business that provides nationwide premium fiber and 5G service across America, this position makes total sense.
But the moment you set foot outside the telecom world, the broader financial market paints a radically different picture. Wall Street analysts are issuing downgrades over the satellite threat, and SpaceX is currently on its roadshow for a historic June 12 IPO targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation. It is a number built almost entirely on the premise of disrupting the global telecommunications market; in fact, SpaceX models Starlink’s total addressable market at $1.3 trillion, which is the exact size of total global telecom revenues.
This huge contrast raises a massive question for investors: Are tier-one telcos in denial about an existential threat, or are they mathematically justified by Newtonian physics in not worrying about low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites?