California can keep enforcing rules that require AT&T to offer basic phone service to new customers in its wireline territory, following a federal judge's ruling last week.
AT&T sued California in May in a bid to end the state's Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) rules that require it to offer telephone service to any potential customer in its territory. AT&T asked for a preliminary injunction that would prevent California from enforcing the COLR rules while the litigation continues.
To win a preliminary injunction, AT&T had to show it is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that California rules are preempted by a Federal Communications Commission order. US District Judge Linda Lopez denied AT&T's request for a preliminary injunction during a motion hearing on Thursday, according to a docket entry. The case is in US District Court for the Southern District of California.
Mike Katz speaks at a T-Mobile event in 2025. (GeekWire File Photo / Todd Bishop)
T-Mobile’s longest-tenured Un-carrier architect just Un-carriered himself.
Mike Katz, who started selling VoiceStream phones at Circuit City 28 years ago and rose to help T-Mobile go from an also-ran into the wireless industry’s most formidable competitor, is leaving the Bellevue, Wash.-based carrier as part of a broader executive reshuffling under CEO Srini Gopalan, who took the helm in November.
Katz, T-Mobile’s chief business and product officer, is stepping away to pursue “new professional interests,” the company said in a press release and SEC filing. The company didn’t provide specifics. We’ve contacted Katz for more on his plans.
He’ll remain as a strategic advisor through December 2026.
His responsibilities are being split three ways:
Chris Sambar, a wireless industry veteran who spent two decades at rival AT&T and most recently served as COO of Public Storage, will join as chief enterprise officer no later than Oct. 14, overseeing T-Mobile’s SMB, enterprise and government businesses.
André Almeida is moving into an expanded role as chief marketing, brand and broadband officer.
CTO John Saw‘s purview will grow to include product engineering and cybersecurity.
Katz was named last month to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s newly created Economic Development Council, a 26-member panel of business, labor, and tribal leaders. His status on the council following his departure from T-Mobile is unclear.
Over his career at T-Mobile, Katz led the company’s business group, where he helped triple the customer base, and later oversaw marketing, strategy and products, shaping some of the carrier’s most recognizable brand moves: T-Mobile Tuesdays, Magenta Status, and others.
“We built a regional player into a national powerhouse, flipped the industry on its head with the Un-carrier movement, pulled off the Sprint merger, and pushed into broadband and enterprise,” Katz said in a LinkedIn post announcing his departure.
Gopalan praised Katz in the press release, calling him “a driving force of so many of the bold moves that have transformed our company and our industry.”
Sambar’s hiring is a notable move for T-Mobile, which built its Un-carrier brand in part by positioning itself as the scrappy alternative to industry giants AT&T and Verizon. At AT&T, Sambar led the buildout of the company’s 5G mobile network and oversaw the design and deployment of FirstNet, the nationwide public safety communications network.
A U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served more than 20 years in the Navy, Sambar will report directly to Gopalan and lead T-Mobile’s push into enterprise, government, and emerging growth areas including T-Ads and physical AI.
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