TAMPA, Fla. — A planned direct-to-device (D2D) joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon has divided operators behind the satellites needed to connect ordinary smartphones from space.

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Jason Rainbow writes about satellite telecom, finance and commercial markets for SpaceNews. He has spent more than a decade covering the global space industry as a business journalist. Previously, he was Group Editor-in-Chief for Finance Information Group,...