Troy Cross

Believer, Husband, Father, Business Development and Investor for Tech Startups, Sailor, Drinker, Golfer...mostly in that order.

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

The only thing surprising about the fact that all three said no is that it was surprising to anyone. I'm fairly certain @elonmusk knew that too. Next move...

https://t.co/xF4Jc8GUZR

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@libsoftiktok Probably shouldn’t have abandoned patriots like Thomas Massie. @RepThomasMassie

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

Some trends worth noting that are a bit hidden beyond the headline of this article.

AI spending was the headline but Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phones last quarter. Nearly double what analysts expected.

And promotional acquisition costs were down 41%, likely less free phones and free lines.

For years the fight was the free phone. But people are continuing to hold their phones longer and longer.

Now it looks like the fight is the plan itself and the Service (capital S) behind it.

Customers no longer want/need a new phone every two years. They need a reason to stay.

https://t.co/253Z7qf3bU

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

What strikes me about SpaceX's reported talks for 80,000 cell sites isn't the intent. We all know that by now. It's the pace.

Low-band spectrum a few weeks ago. FCC approval for 15,000 direct-to-phone satellites. Now Bloomberg reports talks for tower access with Crown Castle and others. That's a lot of building blocks in very little time.

Most Telecom companies move at a different speed.

We'll see if reality, regulations, and bureaucracy slows things down to our expectations of normal. But @elonmusk does have a way of changing the normal.

https://t.co/UU5vOnwUUz

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

I ran into a former CEO of mine at Money20/20 today.

Someone I've always admired, and someone I've done a pretty poor job of keeping up with.

It was great to see him, but it also made me stop and think. Over the years I've worked with a lot of people I genuinely would call friends, and I've let too many of those relationships go quiet.

Nobody did anything wrong. Life just got busy, the next deal came along, and the "we should grab coffee" never turned into a calendar invite.

Most of what I know about this business I learned from the people I worked alongside. They deserve more than a congratulations note when LinkedIn tells me they have a work anniversary.

So this is a reminder to myself as much as anyone.

Send the note. Make the call. I'm going to do better.

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@RepThomasMassie @RealCandaceO Nothing, nothing, nothing will happen to them beyond getting promoted.

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@AgKnocks @BergevinMatthew Please don’t post rhetorical questions on X.

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

Twelve years and more than $10 billion in, AT&T is leaving Mexico for $2 billion.

On paper that's a loss, but I think it's the right call. AT&T built a real number two there and grew a solid postpaid base, and it still sat around 16% share against Telcel's 58%. Telefónica sold Movistar Mexico for $450 million back in April. When two global operators reach the same conclusion in the same year, that says more about the market than about either of them.

For AT&T, the capital goes back to US fiber and 5G. Sometimes the best strategy call is deciding where you're not going to play.

#telecom

https://t.co/dGRaDD31fk

[Farzad 🇺🇸 🇮🇷 @farzyness]

Elon's INSANE SpaceX Phone Announcement

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

The pieces keep moving. SpaceX is buying Grain's 800 MHz low-band spectrum.

Low-band is what gets a signal through walls and into buildings. That has always been the incumbents' strongest argument.

Verizon calls spectrum without a network "just empty airwaves," and that's fair. Towers, backhaul, retail, care and handset deals don't show up when the licenses close.

But a week after AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon formed their satellite JV, both sides clearly see the same future: one network across space and ground.

Who builds the missing half first?

#DirectToDevice

https://t.co/DscS9soUKc

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@RepThomasMassie @chiproytx a great parting gift before you leave congress?

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

We had better discourse

[Publius @OcrazioCornPop]

🚨 MILTON FRIEDMAN (1978): Young lawyer asked Milton about when it is okay for a Govt to force a free citizen to act.

Did you get the nuance in Milton's question about the difference between "society" and "govt"...

Do you think a man should be free to sin?

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@PatUnleashed As a Texan, it would be a massive delimma to find my self in the uncomfortable situation of choosing between voting for Ted Cruz vs. staying home.

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@CFBUpdate_ And then…

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@LizardKing1893 @grok @lastnameNash @PacTheWack @CSUFootball @CSURams Apparently the Secretary of War agrees with @grok https://t.co/FqF39diAGH

[Secretary of War Pete Hegseth @SecWar]

There is NO better way to kick off the SEND ME TOUR than with early morning PT with the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@Tiffany_Gomas Let’s go

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@PessimistASUFan @aggytruther @ConsiderASU Sorry that happened. You seem to be the exception to every other ASU visitor posting after the game. But, if it happened, that would be unacceptable. Like I said, at least you all played a great football game.

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@AgKnocks Texas A&M played like dog shit. Any decent team would have beat them by 21.

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@PessimistASUFan @ConsiderASU Really sorry to hear that. At least you guys played a really good game.

[Troy Cross @crosstroy]

@KatTimpf So sorry