Today's Telecom Pulse
EE fast‑tracks UK 5G+ rollout, leveraging $51 bn BT network upgrade
EE, owned by BT, is accelerating its 5G+ deployment across the UK, using Advanced RAN Coordination to boost download speeds by up to 20% without adding new masts. The rollout will activate 5G+ at more than 25 major events and 30 tourist destinations, extending coverage to 75% of the population, and is part of BT’s roughly $51 bn network‑upgrade programme.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Optimum raises $300M in preferred equity
Lenox Voters to Decide on Co‑Locating Cellular Antenna on Public Safety Tower
Lenox, Mass., will hold a vote on May 7 to authorize the Select Board to negotiate a lease with a carrier for space on the town’s public safety communications tower. The measure, requiring a two‑thirds supermajority, is pitched as a solution to persistent wireless “desert” areas that affect emergency response and everyday connectivity.
Cable Stocks Plunge, Fueling Merger Speculation
Charter's and Comcast's shares took a beating on what one analyst called 'Bloody Friday.' While the size of the sell-off might not have been warranted, it is fueling speculation about M&A and further cable sector consolidation. @Light_Reading https://t.co/SvsJpjx7PR
Telephone & Data Systems Appoints Bill Case as SVP and CIO to Steer Tech Transformation
Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) announced the immediate appointment of Bill Case as senior vice president and chief information officer. The former WOW! executive brings deep broadband and cybersecurity experience to support TDS’s fiber expansion and digital infrastructure strategy. The...
Africa’s Community Networks Offer a Local Path to Inclusive and Resilient Connectivity
Community networks—locally owned, low‑cost wireless mesh or fiber systems—are emerging as a pragmatic solution to Africa’s persistent digital divide. By providing affordable connectivity in rural and hard‑to‑reach areas, they enable access to education, health, and economic services while enhancing digital...
Mark Your Calendar: 6G Milestones in 2027 and 2028
As far as I can tell, there are now two #6G dates that everyone in the wireless industry needs to put on their calendars. Here they are: 1, March 2027 2, July 14 - July 30, 2028 MORE: https://t.co/L1Z0l9HunY
AST’s Legacy Handsets Worsen Latency and Timing Issues
Truly the #cluelesscult. Every aspect that is problematic for Starlink is worse for AST when using legacy handsets: longer path lengths due to higher altitude create higher latency, more functions on the ground make this worse, and larger beams create...
Verizon CEO: Giving Customers Free Handsets Doesn’t Solve All Problems
Verizon reported Q1 2026 operating revenue of $34.4 billion, up 2.9% year‑over‑year, driven by wireless services and a 5.2% rise in equipment sales. Net income climbed 3.3% to $5.1 billion and adjusted EPS jumped 7.6% to $1.28, prompting the company to raise...
T‑Mobile’s FWA Faces Extinction as Fiber Bundles Surge
.@TMobile is walking into a capacity trap. Fixed Wireless Access cannot survive the coming wave of heavy fiber bundles. The telecom market is completely mispricing network convergence. 🚨📉
Best Verizon Plans: How to Choose and Which Ones to Pick in 2026
Verizon’s 2026 unlimited lineup consists of three base plans—Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, and Unlimited Ultimate—each with a three‑year price‑lock guarantee. Welcome is the low‑cost option, offering unlimited data on low‑band 5G but no hotspot or 5G Ultra Wideband (UW). Plus...
SES to Equip 20 JAL A350‑900s With
Updated to include comment from SES director of program management Rob Baird, who reveals that the firm's GEO/LEO IFC service, as supported by the Gilat Stellar Blu multi-orbit ESA, will be linefit to 20 A350-900s for JAL as part of...
Homeowners Say Ezee Fiber Damaged Homes, Communicated Poorly
Houston homeowners near the Energy Corridor allege that Ezee Fiber’s installation crews damaged driveways, utility lines, and water pipes, and then failed to honor repair promises. The complaints echo earlier incidents that led the Better Business Bureau to strip the...
NTIA To Set Guidance For $21B In BEAD Funds Within ‘a Few Months’
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced it will release guidance for the $21 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) fund within the next few months. Administrator Arielle Roth emphasized a competitive, outcome‑driven approach and strict adherence to program rules....
Secure Mobile Communications: T-Priority Bridges VPN Mobility Gap
Having served as a public safety director, first responder safety is always top of mind, including secure communications when units move. Tunnel-based VPNs were never built for movement. T-Priority with T-SIMsecure closes the gap. @T_Priority Partner https://t.co/CHTZbTwufN
An Excellent Overview of AST SpaceMobile Following the New Glenn Launch Failure
AST SpaceMobile aims to have up to 45 Bluebird broadband satellites in orbit by year‑end, but the recent New Glenn launch failure complicates that timeline. The company continues building and testing satellites in Midland, Texas, and plans to ship three units...
Anterix, Benton PUD Agree To Deploy Private Wireless To Pacific Northwest Utility District
Anterix has signed an agreement with Utility District No. 1 of Benton County to provide a 10 MHz slice of 900 MHz private LTE spectrum, enabling the first utility‑owned private wireless broadband network in the Pacific Northwest. The network will cover Benton PUD’s...
Ericsson, Verizon Test 7 GHz Band for Future Networks
"Ericsson and Verizon are collaborating to explore the use of the 7 GHz band for the nextgeneration mobile network. This includes the development of experimental equipment for both base station and mobile User Equipment for testing" https://t.co/wXKc4hejYI
Gatehouse Satcom and Rohde & Schwarz Formalize Collaboration to Strengthen 5G NTN Testing
Gatehouse Satcom and Rohde & Schwarz announced a partnership to accelerate validation of 5G non‑terrestrial networks (NTN). The collaboration will integrate Gatehouse’s 5G NTN software stacks with Rohde & Schwarz’s CMX500 radio‑communication tester to create more realistic lab emulations of LEO Doppler shifts and...
Digital Darwinism: Why Automation Evolution Is Crucial to Telcos' Survival
The telecom sector faces a "digital Darwinism" moment, where survival hinges on evolving from legacy, hardware‑centric networks to AI‑driven, autonomous architectures. Only 6% of operators have reached Level 4 autonomous capabilities, yet 73% plan to achieve it by 2030. High‑value use...
Verizon Prioritizes Fiber Expansion Over FWA, Seeks Partnerships
As Verizon expands on its convergence strategy, there will be a mix-shift to fiber over FWA, says CEO Dan Schulman. @Verizon , he added, will look to accelerate the expansion of its fiber footprint via partnerships & potential M&A. ...
LG Electronics Unveils Hybrid eCall Solution for 2G‑5G Emergency Calls at 5GAA Sweden
LG Electronics presented its Hybrid Emergency Call (Hybrid eCall) platform at the 5G Automotive Association’s meeting in Gothenburg, showcasing a telematics control unit that can switch seamlessly between 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks. The rollout targets compliance with Europe’s...
AT&T Launches $90 Bundle to Curb Churn; ESET Adds eCrime Reports
AT&T rolled out a $90 OneConnect bundled plan that combines wireless and fiber internet to slow postpaid churn, and cybersecurity firm ESET launched eCrime Reports to give security teams curated threat intelligence. Both moves reflect a tactical shift toward integrated...
Customer Challenges O2 over 13.5% Bill Hike
Hi @O2 - curious how you can justify putting up my mobile phone bill by 13.5% this year. Don't you think you might be taking liberties just a bit?
Starlink Returns to Papua New Guinea After Court Ruling
SpaceX’s Starlink service will resume operations in Papua New Guinea after the National Court ruled the Ombudsman Commission’s licensing ban unconstitutional. The court found no evidence of corruption or leadership‑code violations, labeling the ban an administrative overreach. Prime Minister James...
Nigeria Launches $2 B Project BRIDGE to Wire Police Stations to National Fibre Backbone
Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy has begun the $2 billion Project BRIDGE, a programme to connect every police station to the country’s national fibre backbone. The rollout will add 90,000 km of fibre, enable AI‑driven policing tools and expand...
Verizon Ups Guidance as Q1 Report Serves up Mixed Messages
Verizon reported a rare post‑paid phone net addition of 55,000 in Q1 2026, the first positive quarterly gain since 2013, bringing total connections to 93.9 million. The company’s fibre business added 127,000 customers, reaching 10.8 million, while fixed‑wireless access grew to 6 million....
Verizon Surpasses 6M FWA Subs as Priority Shifts to Fiber
Verizon reported a mixed broadband performance in Q1 2026, adding 127,000 new fiber subscribers to reach 10.75 million and pushing its fixed‑wireless access (FWA) base to 6 million despite slower growth. The company highlighted a strategic shift toward expanding fiber, leveraging the recent...
Data‑Center Fiber Tech Shortage Fuels Blue‑Collar AI Job Surge
Meta unveiled a free four‑week LevelUp Fiber Technician Pathway to train thousands for its expanding data‑center fleet, as a 2024 industry report projects a need for nearly 200,000 additional fiber technicians to power AI workloads. The move highlights a widening...
This TP-Link WiFi 7 Travel Router Is 30% Off Right Now
The TP‑Link Roam 7 Wi‑Fi 7 travel router is now $98.99 on Amazon, a $41 drop from its $139.99 launch price, marking its lowest ever cost. This pocket‑sized device folds its antennas for easy packing and offers a 2.5 Gbps WAN port, 1 Gbps...
Beyond Caching: Content Delivery Networks
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) distribute proxy and cache servers across global points of presence to serve web assets from locations nearest to end users. By routing requests through edge servers, CDNs cut round‑trip time, offload traffic from origin servers, and...
AT&T's Growth Is a Fiber‑only Illusion
.@ATT 's growth is a geographic illusion. My latest data shows they are only winning inside their "Fiber Castles" while losing customers everywhere else. The convergence narrative masks the reality of market fragmentation. 🧵🚨
FCC Split on Lifeline Eligibility Reforms, Gomez Says
The Federal Communications Commission remains divided over the future of its Lifeline subsidy program, which still offers a meager $9.25 per month to low‑income households. Democratic commissioner Anna Gomez warned that the benefit has not kept pace with modern broadband...
The only Convergence Lever that Works Is the One You Buried
Roger Entner’s Recon Analytics study shows that owning the fiber network, not marketing bundles, is the primary driver of wireless market‑share gains. Across nearly 1.4 million consumer surveys, carriers with substantial fiber footprints enjoy a 14‑point average lift in wireless share,...
5 Questions About Private 5G for Healthcare Organizations
Private 5G is emerging as a viable alternative to campus Wi‑Fi for hospitals, offering higher device density, lower latency, and deterministic performance. The technology leverages dedicated spectrum, either purchased, leased, or accessed via the FCC’s free General Authorized Access band,...
T‑Mobile, Verizon Urged to Chase Charter Now
"T-Mobile and Verizon should attempt to acquire Charter for massive value creation opportunities. The Trump Presidency is the time to try. A merger with Comcast is far less valuable, but better than doing nothing." via Peter Supino at Wolfe Research
Globe Uses Grab Driver Insights to Boost Mobile Network Performance Across Metro Manila
Globe Telecom has partnered with ride‑hailing platform Grab to turn its driver‑partners into mobile network auditors across Metro Manila. By embedding a lightweight data‑capture tool in drivers’ smartphones, Globe gathers real‑time metrics on signal strength, latency and coverage during everyday...
Emirates Becomes First Airline to Deploy Ultra-Fast Starlink Inflight Wi-Fi on the Iconic Airbus A380 Superjumbo
Emirates has become the first airline to install ultra‑fast Starlink broadband on an Airbus A380, boosting onboard capacity by roughly 2,000‑fold. The 13‑year‑old superjumbo (registration A6‑EEA) was ferried to Newquay, Cornwall, where three Starlink antennas were fitted, delivering over two...
Fiber Footprint, Not Ads, Wins Telecom Battles
Telecom is not being won by “best network” ads. It is being won by fiber footprint. Full stop. 🚨🧵
Sustainable by Design: The Importance of Building Things to Last
The article argues that durability is a hidden but powerful lever for sustainability, especially in broadband networks. By designing products to last, companies reduce waste, lower operating costs, and improve customer trust. Research from NIST shows a 50% lifespan increase...
Truecaller’s Growth Slows as CNAP and Platform Spam Blockers Bite
Truecaller, the caller‑ID app with over 500 million users, reported a 16% year‑over‑year decline in Indian downloads and a 5% global dip in 2025, while its stock has fallen 78% since its 2021 IPO. The slowdown coincides with telecom‑led CNAP rollout...
Household Gigabit Subscribers to Reach 60% by 2030 – Omdia
Omdia projects that by 2030 roughly 60% of North American households will subscribe to gigabit‑or‑faster broadband, as fiber‑to‑the‑home deployments catch up with cable DOCSIS. Passive optical network (PON) equipment is expected to expand at a 14.3% CAGR for OLTs and...
Henna Virkkunen Visited University of Oulu to Discuss 6G Research and Tech Sovereignty
On 23 April 2026 EU Executive Vice‑President Henna Virkkunen visited the University of Oulu to review Finland’s 6G Flagship programme and discuss Europe’s tech‑sovereignty agenda. The flagship now mobilises about 600 researchers, has delivered more than 60 EU‑funded projects and authored fifteen...
Get a Month of 5G Home Internet on T-Mobile and $300 Cash Back - Here's How
T‑Mobile is promoting its 5G Home Internet service with a month of free service and a cash‑back rebate up to $300 when customers enroll in AutoPay and add a voice line. The offer spans three plan tiers—Rely at $35/month, Amplified...
Vodafone UK Donates SIMs to British Gas Energy Trust Charity
Vodafone UK is providing 5,000 prepaid SIM cards to the British Gas Energy Trust, each offering 40 GB of data and unlimited calls and texts for six months. The donation is part of Vodafone’s “everyone.connected” corporate social responsibility programme and leverages...
The Push for Permitting Reform
Congress is reviewing H.R. 2289, the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2025, which would overhaul permitting for wireless and wired infrastructure. The bill imposes a 60‑to‑150‑day "shot clock" for state and local authorities to approve or deny permits, automatically granting...
Vodafone Installs Temporary Mobile Mast at London Marathon Start Line
Vodafone UK forecasts a 15% jump in mobile data traffic at the 2026 London Marathon compared with the 2025 race. To accommodate the surge, the carrier has deployed a temporary Cell‑on‑Wheels (COW) mast at the start line near Greenwich Park. The...
Verizon Reports Phone Subscriber Gains Under New CEO
Verizon Communications reported a net gain of 55,000 mobile phone subscribers in the first quarter of 2026, marking its first quarterly increase since 2013. The growth translates to a year‑over‑year rise of 340,000 customers and defied analysts’ expectations of an...
R&S Partners Gatehouse Satcom to Develop 5G NTN Test Cases
Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) has teamed up with 5G non‑terrestrial network (NTN) software developer Gatehouse Satcom to create lab‑based test cases for 5G NTN connectivity. The collaboration responds to a market shift from early specification work toward live 5G NTN...
SoftBank and TOPPAN Unveil Ultra‑Light HAPS Wing Skin to Extend Stratospheric Broadband
SoftBank Corp and TOPPAN Holdings announced a joint development of a lightweight, high‑durability skin for solar high‑altitude platform stations (HAPS) wings. The new material resists extreme UV and temperatures near –100 °C, enabling longer stratospheric operation for broadband services slated for...
Ofcom Writes to Broadband Providers Following Anthropic Mythos AI Concerns
Ofcom’s Group Director for Infrastructure and Connectivity, Natalie Black, has written to UK broadband providers warning of the rapid escalation in AI capability, specifically citing Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview model. The AI Security Institute flagged Mythos as markedly more adept...
Vodafone Business UK Brings Differentiation to 5G SA with a Multi-Tiered Product Line
Vodafone Business UK has commercially launched two new enterprise‑mobility services—5G+ Local Slicing and Network Boost—built on its VodafoneThree 5G standalone network. Local Slicing offers a dedicated, walled‑off lane for up to 5 km², while Network Boost gives workers priority data handling...