Today's Telecom Pulse
Deutsche Telekom weighs full takeover of T‑Mobile US
Deutsche Telekom, valued at roughly $167 billion, is considering a full acquisition of its U.S. subsidiary T‑Mobile. The plan would create a new holding company that owns both the German parent and T‑Mobile US, where Deutsche Telekom already holds a 52% stake. The proposal remains in early talks and would need approvals from the FCC and German regulators.
Also developing:
Nokia Shares Surge 2.9% to $10.61 Ahead of Q1 Earnings on AI Networking Demand
Nokia's stock rose nearly 3% to $10.61 on Monday, spurred by strong investor interest in AI‑driven and optical networking demand ahead of its Q1 2026 earnings. The rally reflects broader optimism that telecom operators will boost capex for next‑generation infrastructure, even as peers grapple with margin pressures.
Iran Alleges US Cyberattacks; China Amplifies Claims
Iranian state media alleges that the United States exploited hidden backdoors or a botnet to disable networking equipment from vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, Fortinet and MikroTik during recent hostilities. The claim suggests the sabotage could be triggered by a...
CISA Confirms Exploitation of 3 More Cisco Networking Device Vulnerabilities
CISA added three Cisco networking device vulnerabilities—CVE‑2026‑20122, CVE‑2026‑20128 and CVE‑2026‑20133—to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming they are being used in the wild. This brings the total of exploited flaws to four of the six Cisco issues disclosed in February....
LG Innotek Secures Automotive Wi-Fi 7 Supply Agreement
LG Innotek has landed a $68 million supply deal to provide its automotive Wi‑Fi 7 communication module to an unnamed European parts maker, with mass production slated for 2027. The compact module, roughly one‑sixth the size of a credit card, supports a...
AST SpaceMobile Loses $2 B Market Cap After BlueBird‑7 Fails Orbit
AST SpaceMobile’s stock fell about 5% on April 20, erasing roughly $2 billion in market value after BlueBird‑7 was placed into an off‑nominal orbit by Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. The setback intensifies pressure on the company’s 2026 satellite‑deployment schedule and its...
TP-Link Seeks to Secure Conditional Approval From FCC Following Router Import Ban — Company Stresses It Is No Longer Chinese-Owned
TP‑Link is petitioning the Federal Communications Commission for a conditional approval that would let it import new router models despite the FCC’s blanket ban on foreign‑made consumer routers. The company argues it is now a U.S. entity after separating from...
DISH Customers Can Now Get Starlink Internet for Just $50 a Month With Unlimited Data
DISH Network is now selling Starlink satellite internet for $50 a month with unlimited data, adding professional installation for its TV subscribers. The plan promises speeds up to 400 Mbps across most of the continental United States, targeting rural and underserved...
Sentech Urges Investment in SA’s Digital Infrastructure
Sentech CEO Tebogo Leshope urged South Africa to accelerate investment in digital infrastructure, emphasizing data‑centre capacity as a catalyst for economic growth and AI adoption. The government’s Operation Vulindlela 2.0 programme now lists data‑centres alongside electricity, ports and transport as priority...
T‑Mobile to Cut 326 Jobs in April, Expanding 2026 Workforce Reductions
T‑Mobile filed WARN notices for 326 positions in April, including 200 cuts at its Chattanooga call center, 75 in Austin and 51 in Denver. The layoffs follow a 2023 reduction of 5,000 staff and come as the carrier confronts slowing...
Arrow Electronics Reference Design Board Features Bourns, Microchip, Amphenol Technologies
Arrow Electronics has released a 10BASE‑T1S reference design board co‑developed with Microchip, Bourns and Amphenol. The platform centers on Microchip’s LAN8670 PHY, an IEC 63171‑6‑compliant Amphenol connector, and Bourns’ SM91081AL isolation transformer and common‑mode choke. It lets engineers evaluate signal integrity,...
NAB 2026: Cadena Tres Selects Eutelsat for Television Signal Distribution in Mexico
Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Imagen, has signed a distribution agreement with satellite operator Eutelsat to carry its television signals on the EUTELSAT 117 West A satellite. The partnership places Cadena Tres in Eutelsat’s 117° West video neighbourhood, enabling content delivery to cable...
Seacom Takes Aim at Regional Peering Costs
Seacom has introduced PeeringReach, a new connectivity service that extends South Africa’s internet exchange point (IXP) infrastructure into smaller towns and municipalities. The offering runs over Seacom’s national fibre backbone and provides 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps layer‑2 links into the Jinx,...
Ericsson, the Best a RAN Can Get, Still Lacks a Growth Story
Ericsson’s enterprise unit, built on the $6.2 billion Vonage purchase and the $1.1 billion Cradlepoint deal, posted a 30% year‑over‑year revenue drop to SEK 4.2 billion (≈$460 million) in Q1 2026, contributing to a cumulative operating loss of nearly $7 billion since the segment’s 2022 launch. The...
Airtel Expands 5G to Villages and Towns in Maharashtra & Goa with 3,400 New Sites
Bharti Airtel has added more than 3,400 new 5G sites across Maharashtra and Goa over the past year, extending coverage to 36 districts and over 22 million users. The expansion targets both major cities and remote districts such as Gadchiroli, Nandurbar...
Telcos Showing Limited Aspiration for RAN Autonomy Benefits
Recent STL Partners polls reveal telcos’ aspirations for autonomous RAN are only marginally higher than the modest benefits they currently perceive. While cost‑reduction and reliability dominate both "actuality" and "aspirations" surveys, only about 11‑13% of respondents view new revenue generation...
Cisco Launches Sovereign Critical Infrastructure Across EMEA
Cisco announced the launch of its Sovereign Critical Infrastructure (SCI) portfolio for customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The offering bundles Cisco’s networking, security, compute, collaboration, AI and Splunk solutions into configurable, air‑gapped or hybrid on‑premises environments. It...
SoftBank Trial Enables Spectrum Sharing Between HAPS and Terrestrial Networks
SoftBank has completed a field trial of a dynamic null‑forming system that mitigates interference between high‑altitude platform stations (HAPS) and terrestrial mobile networks. The technology creates directional nulls that can be continuously adjusted as airborne base stations move, allowing both...
China Unicom, Huawei Elevate E-Town Race-Day Experiences with 5G-A GigaUplink
China Unicom and Huawei deployed a 5G‑A GigaUplink network for the Beijing E‑Town Half‑Marathon, using 3.5 GHz and 2.1 GHz bands to guarantee 20 Mbps uplink reliability exceeding 99.6 % and a peak speed of 677 Mbps. The high‑capacity link supported 4K/8K live broadcasting, real‑time...
Inside SatEnlight's Spiral Staircase of Lasers: Interview with Startup Space Winner Matteo Vismara
In this episode, Jeffrey Hill interviews Matteo Vismara, CEO and co‑founder of Italy‑based SatNlight, the winner of the Sat Show’s 10th annual Startup Space Entrepreneur Pitch Contest. Vismara explains how his team’s optical‑communication terminal uses stacked vortex beams—visualized as a...
Brightspeed Reaches over 100,000 Locations with Fiber in Arkansas
Brightspeed announced that more than 101,000 homes and businesses in Arkansas now have access to its fiber network, marking the halfway point of its statewide deployment. The company aims to serve over 202,000 locations once the buildout is complete. Service...
Global Telecom Capex and Revenue Trends 2025: Omdia Highlights $1.3 Trillion Market with Slowing Investment
Omdia’s 2025 report shows global telecom revenues reaching $1.3 trillion, a 4% year‑on‑year rise, while capital expenditure slipped to $303 billion, down 2%. The industry added 3 billion 5G connections—a 34% jump—and expanded fiber broadband, yet operators are tightening overall spend to protect...
Paper on Terahertz-Band ISAC Receives Coveted IEEE Mimno Award
The episode explores the upcoming 6G paradigm shift toward Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), where terahertz‑band radio waves will simultaneously transmit data and act as radar. It explains the physics challenges of terahertz frequencies—severe atmospheric absorption, massive path loss, and...
Airline Wi‑Fi Overpriced, Unreliable—Passengers Demand Upgrade
On my flight to and from London last week I paid $30 PER LEG for an “ultra” internet pass (NOT starlink) that didn’t work 80% of the flight and when it did, couldn’t load a web page with images on...
Ookla Data Highlights Growth Potential of D2D, Satellite Networks
Although D2D technology is still maturing and satellite constellations remain prone to major setbacks, independent network performance analysis firm Ookla has provided some figures to “shine a light on this emerging market and its growth potential”. https://t.co/76fJlR37Vu
House Approves FirstNet Authority Reauthorization Bill
The U.S. House approved H.R. 7386, reauthorizing the FirstNet Authority through September 2037 and tightening oversight by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The bipartisan bill, passed by voice vote, amends the 2012 law to require NTIA pre‑approval for most FirstNet...
Direct-to-Device Growth Stalls Where Operators Charge Fees
The number of direct-to-device users is growing globally, but in countries where operators have started billing for the service usage is dropping off. https://t.co/xziMbUTbYf
Starlink Launches Drive 24.5% Rise in Global D2D Connections
The number of global D2D connections recorded by Ookla increased roughly 24.5% between July 2025 and March 2026. This growth coincides with the launch of Starlink services in a number of countries, including Chile, Ukraine, Peru, and the U.K. MORE: https://t.co/PajgLybGDh...
FCC Commissioner Trusty Explores `That Elusive Angel of the Public Interest’
At the 2026 NAB Show, FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty delivered a measured speech titled “Finding the Angel of Public Interest,” reaffirming the broadcaster‑specific public‑interest obligations that set TV stations apart from streaming services. She highlighted long‑standing duties such as localism,...
Huawei Secures 19 Critical‑Sector Certifications, Outpacing Spanish Firms
CNI certifies 19 Huawei products for use in critical sectors such as defense With more than 70 devices in April, it far exceeds the certifications obtained by Spanish companies Clean network? https://t.co/tWRMNbiOR6
Chile Tops D2D Satellite Usage; Japan Lags Behind
During March 2026, 0.46% of Speedtest® users in the U.S. recorded a connection to a D2D satellite. In Chile, that figure was 1.26% (the highest). In Canada, it was 0.70%. In Japan, it was 0.11% (the lowest). MORE: https://t.co/PajgLycesP https://t.co/P2SNF9H8Zr
Vodafone Idea Data Vouchers with Handset Insurance
India’s third‑largest telecom, Vodafone Idea (VIL), has launched two prepaid data vouchers that bundle 10 GB of data with handset insurance worth up to ₹25,000 (≈ $300). The vouchers are priced at ₹201 (≈ $2.40) and ₹251 (≈ $3.00) and each provides 30 days of...
2026 Direct-to-Device Marketplace Forecast Unveiled
THIS IS THE BIG ONE I've been working on this report for a while. Like, it took A LOT of work. But here it is. Phew 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭-𝐭𝐨-𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 (𝐃𝟐𝐃) 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 MORE: https://t.co/PajgLycesP https://t.co/VbUXomv7fP
5G Speed Tests Show Network Quality No Longer Matters
.@verizon 's Dan Schulman nails it: best networks matter less now. They are all good enough. Speed tests are 5G's only killer app. Time to ditch the network fetish. 🧵📉 #Telecom #5G
Starlink Struggling for Approval on South Africa, India
Elon Musk’s Starlink service is stalled in South Africa because the country’s Black Economic Empowerment law demands a 30% black ownership stake, prompting the cancellation of service for 5,000 users while approvals linger. Musk has pledged roughly 2 million Rand (about...
Gigabit 5G Hype Fades as Consumers Ignore Speed
The 5G speed wars are pretty much over. Carriers bragging about gigabit networks are aggressively selling a vanity metric many consumers completely ignore. 🚨📉
2025 Marks Worst Year Yet for Digital Freedom
Access Now's latest report on internet shutdowns reveals that 2025 was the worst year on record for digital freedom. With VPNs and satellite internet increasingly under fire, we recap the year’s biggest threats and look at what’s next for global...
Hajj 2026 Wi-Fi Strategy: How Hotels Can Deliver 100+ Mbps Connectivity at Scale
Saudi Arabia’s Hajj pilgrimage is set to host up to 30 million visitors by 2030, pushing telecom providers to scale Wi‑Fi infrastructure across Mecca and Medina. During Hajj 2025, average daily mobile data use hit 1.26 GB per pilgrim, prompting the deployment...
European Telcos Redefine Services Beyond Connectivity in AI Era
I’m in the first plenary session at @FuturenetW in London, listening to a panel of European operator CTOs + a vendor talking about #telcos “beyond connectivity” in the AI era. Quick comments: https://t.co/uzObx4Clwf
Networking at FuturenetW London: Automation, AI, Direct Connections
Kicking off at @FuturenetW in London Big event, with main focus on network automation & AI Message me here or on LinkedIn to meet, as obviously I don’t use the hideous SwapCard event app https://t.co/XYjLRM9TvX
Telecom News: Eutelsat, Cadena Tres, Fuel Crisis in Bangladesh, Spectrum Auction in Mozambique
European satellite operator Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with Mexico’s Cadena Tres, extending the broadcaster’s use of the EUTELSAT 117 West A satellite to serve more than 130 digital terrestrial sites nationwide. In Bangladesh, severe fuel shortages are threatening the...
Telecom News: MDA Space, OneWeb, Eutelsat, LG Innotek, Verizon
MDA Space secured a repeat Airbus contract to deliver more than 1,300 Ka‑band and Ku‑band antennas for OneWeb’s expanding low‑Earth‑orbit broadband constellation, now operated by Eutelsat. LG Innotek landed a $68 million deal to supply Wi‑Fi 7 automotive modules, promising three‑fold speed...
Vodafone Romania Merges Evotracking, iSYS Units to Boost Fleet Management, IoT Offering
Vodafone Romania has merged its Evotracking and iSYS Professional subsidiaries into a single company operating as EvoGPS powered by iTrack. The consolidation makes Vodafone Romania the sole shareholder of the new entity. This move aligns with Vodafone's broader strategy to...
India Nears Full Mobile Coverage in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Connecting 6,226 Villages to 4G/5G
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told Parliament that 6,226 of Jammu & Kashmir's 6,474 villages and 233 of Ladakh's 243 villages now have mobile service, most with 4G and a growing share of 5G. The rollout, part of the BharatNet and...
Comcast Shares Trade at 8× Earnings After Losing 711,000 Broadband Subscribers
Comcast's shares are now valued at roughly eight times forward earnings after the company reported a loss of 711,000 broadband subscribers in the prior year. The decline, driven by competition from fixed‑wireless rivals, has left investors focused on the firm’s...
Flat-Rate Plans Never Made Sense From the Start
The reason is most likely because flat rate plans never really made sense in the first place.
Viasat Sets April 27 Launch for ViaSat-3 F3 Satellite, Completing Global Constellation
Viasat announced that its ViaSat-3 F3 high‑throughput communications satellite will launch on April 27, 2026, using SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center. The launch completes the three‑satellite ViaSat-3 constellation, extending broadband capacity across the Asia‑Pacific region and positioning Viasat...
Sertex Opens Regional Office in Maine to Assist Statewide Effort
Sertex Broadband Solutions opened a 9,600‑square‑foot regional office in Sidney, Maine, positioned near I‑95 exit 113. The facility, featuring 7,200 sq ft of warehouse and office space, will act as a long‑term hub for engineering, construction and logistics on the state’s MOOSE...
D2D Progress
Ookla's latest report shows global direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connections grew 24.5% from July 2025 to March 2026, driven by Starlink Mobile's expansion into new markets such as the U.K. However, the United States and Canada saw a dip in D2D usage, which...
Fiber Frenzy
Mediacom finished 12 broadband projects in Minnesota, laying over 400 miles of last‑mile fiber and delivering FTTH service to more than 3,900 previously unserved addresses, with speeds up to 2 Gbps. GoNetspeed announced a $4.2 million expansion into Derby and Shelton, Connecticut,...
Astound Joins Dish Wireless Lawsuit Frenzy
Astound Business Solutions, a unit of Astound Broadband, filed a lawsuit alleging Dish Wireless refused to pay roughly $1.7 million in termination fees after cancelling 84 installed transport services. The complaint joins a growing slate of suits from tower and infrastructure...