What's happening: Google unveils AI agents for autonomous telco network operations at MWC
At Mobile World Congress, Google introduced AI agents that enable autonomous network operations for carriers. The agents leverage dynamic digital twins—real‑time graphs of network states—to predict behavior and test upgrades. Google also open‑sourced its telco data pipeline and models, adding a data steward agent to simplify twin creation and governance.
Also developing:

In this episode, Tamara Bond‑Williams talks with Vaibhav Magal, VP of the International Division at Hughes, about what makes satellite‑based school connectivity reliable, scalable and sustainable across emerging markets. They explain why schools are prioritized as community hubs, the technical requirements—high uptime, sufficient throughput, low latency and affordable cost—and the crucial role of digital literacy and managed services in ensuring lasting impact. Magal shares real‑world examples from Africa, Asia‑Pacific and India, illustrating how extending school Wi‑Fi to surrounding neighborhoods transforms education and local economies.

FiberLight announced a $350 million investment to build 1,400 route‑miles of fiber in West Texas, bringing its regional network to nearly 4.8 million fiber miles. The expansion adds a third diverse route into Abilene, boosting network resiliency and capacity for AI‑driven workloads....
On February 5, 2026 the FCC issued a Memorandum and Order resolving a pole‑attachment dispute between Comcast and Appalachian Power Company (APCO). The FCC reaffirmed that attachers only pay the incremental cost of replacing a pole when the existing pole violates...
IonQ has rolled out Romania’s National Quantum Communication Infrastructure (RoNaQCI), creating a 1,500‑kilometer quantum‑key‑distribution (QKD) network that links six major cities. The system comprises 36 quantum‑secured links, accounting for more than 20% of Europe’s terrestrial quantum communications capacity. Leveraging wavelength‑division...
Huawei is participating in 16 Horizon Europe research projects despite being labeled a high‑risk supplier by the European Commission. Fifteen of the contracts were signed before the 2023 ban, while a sixth‑year project was deemed outside the restriction scope. The...

Two bipartisan lawmakers introduced the Keep It Moving Act to impose strict shot clocks on Federal Communications Commission merger reviews, formalizing the agency's informal 180‑day deadline. If the FCC exceeds the timeline, applicants could seek a court order to compel...

RightFiber, a Ritter Communications brand, announced a $50 million investment to extend its 100% fiber‑optic network across North Texas, starting construction in Seagoville. The rollout will deliver residential speeds up to 5 Gbps and business connections up to 100 Gbps. The company highlighted...

Juniper Networks disclosed a critical CVE‑2026‑21902 vulnerability in the On‑Box Anomaly Detection framework of its Junos OS Evolved running on PTX Series routers. The flaw lets an unauthenticated attacker reach a root‑level service over an external port, enabling full device...

AST SpaceMobile announced that its BlueBird 7 (BB7) satellite has been encapsulated inside the 7‑meter payload fairing of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, marking the final major milestone before the NG‑3 launch from Cape Canaveral. BB7 is a Block 2 satellite featuring a...
ETSI’s Industry Specification Group on Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISG ISAC) has published ETSI GR ISC 003, a report that defines the architectural foundations for embedding advanced sensing into future 6G networks. The document outlines a 6G ISAC system reference model supporting monostatic, bistatic...
Europe faces its most contested security decade since the Cold War, with the digital backbone—networks, data infrastructures and connectivity—now the primary frontline. Recent blackouts in Portugal and Spain illustrate how digital failures become national security events, while adversaries target subsea...

Celeste Technologies announced that its fully software‑based SmartgNB successfully completed 5G NR‑NTN interoperability tests with Sateliot’s direct‑to‑device payload at Qualcomm’s Lannion labs. The campaign validated end‑to‑end traffic across GEO and LEO scenarios, covering both transparent and regenerative satellite payloads, using...

Gilat Satellite Networks demonstrated a 3GPP‑compliant 5G non‑terrestrial network (NTN) connection using its existing geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite infrastructure. The end‑to‑end test validated key capabilities such as 5G NTN VSAT, hub technologies, latency compensation and protocol optimizations. Gilat’s success...

Salesforce unveiled Agentforce for Communications, a suite of telco‑specific AI agents designed to automate routine tasks and boost customer engagement. The solution targets a telecom sector facing slowing revenue growth—forecast at 2.9% by 2029—and high churn rates up to 40%....
SES and Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) have installed 1,100 solar‑powered base stations across the Democratic Republic of the Congo, pushing mobile coverage to 27% of the population and adding roughly 1.3 million new users. The rollout relies on VSAT backhaul and...
Amazon One has asked the FCC for a two‑year extension to meet its 1,600‑satellite launch deadline, currently operating only 212 satellites, while the FCC approved an additional 4,500 satellites for its constellation. The NTIA quickly rebuffed Starlink’s push to loosen...
GoFibre secured a £105 million Project Gigabit contract to deliver gigabit‑capable broadband to 63,000 premises across North East Scotland, with a commercial extension targeting 100,000 premises overall. The rollout will commence in early 2026 in towns such as Stonehaven, St Cyrus, Laurencekirk, Auchenblae,...
Ofcom reports that UK phone and broadband prices are trending down, with high‑speed 900 Mbps plans now costing roughly half of what they did a few years ago. The regulator outlines ten practical ways consumers can cut costs, from switching providers...
Reliance Jio reinforced its telecom dominance in Q3 FY26, posting adjusted gross revenue of ₹321 billion, a 3.9% quarterly and 11.2% annual increase. Its AGR market share climbed to 43%, gaining 41 basis points sequentially and 114 basis points year‑on‑year, surpassing...

Ribbon Communications announced a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services to deliver a cloud‑native, secure voice communications suite on AWS Marketplace. The offering bundles Ribbon’s Session Border Controller, policy routing engine, and centralized management platform as containerized services optimized for...

European Space Agency, Airbus Defence and Space, TNO and TESAT have demonstrated the world’s first gigabit‑per‑second laser link between a moving aircraft and a geostationary satellite. During test flights over Nîmes, the UltraAir optical terminal maintained an error‑free 2.6 Gbps connection...
Deploying a BGP route reflector for MPLS 6PE or L3VPN on Cisco IOS requires IPv6 routing to be enabled, even when the device never forwards IPv6 traffic. Without the "ipv6 unicast-routing" command, IOS rejects IPv6 address‑family configuration, causing integration tests to...
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has taken a wait‑and‑see stance on whether existing net‑neutrality rules apply to 5G network slicing, offering no immediate guidance. Telecom operators are urging the government to explicitly permit slicing, arguing it is essential...

Australia will conduct a nationwide test of the AusAlert emergency warning system on July 27, ahead of its full launch in October. The $132 million network can send geo‑targeted alerts within 160 metres, enabling precise evacuation instructions for bushfires, floods, storms and...
Vistance Networks completed the CCS divestiture to Amphenol, using the proceeds to retire all debt, redeem preferred equity and declare a $10‑per‑share special cash distribution. The company posted a 40% jump in full‑year net sales to $1.93 billion, with Q4 core...
Shenandoah Telecommunications reported Q2 2025 revenue of $88.6 million, driven by a 40.5% jump in Glo Fiber sales to $19.8 million and a record addition of 5,700 new fiber subscribers. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 21.9% to $28.4 million, lifting the margin to 32% as...
Cable One reported a Q4 2025 decline of 10,700 residential data subscriptions and revenue falling to $363.7 million, down from $387.2 million a year earlier. CFO Todd Koetje noted modest improvements in disconnect rates but said they remain unsatisfactory. The...
Millicom (Tigo) reported a strong Q4 2020 rebound, adding a record 2.3 million mobile users and 103 k cable customers, lifting its total subscriber base to 42 million mobile and 4.5 million broadband users. Service revenue and EBITDA were essentially flat YoY, while operating...

Clearfield CEO Cheri Beranek says Verizon's acquisition of Frontier creates a major growth opportunity for the fiber‑connectivity supplier. The combined Verizon‑Frontier network will cover over 25 million premises across 31 states, expanding demand for Clearfield’s equipment and its new NOVA platform....

Dell introduced the PowerEdge XR9700, a ruggedized, liquid‑cooled server built for edge AI and cloud‑RAN deployments in harsh outdoor settings. The chassis is IP66 sealed and operates from –40°F to 115°F, eliminating the need for climate‑controlled shelters. Powered by Intel’s...
IP Infusion unveiled OcNOS 7.0 at MWC 2026, delivering 800 Gbps open‑networking capabilities and AI‑optimized low‑latency fabric for data‑center operators. Keysight Technologies and Ericsson demonstrated a pre‑6G interoperability milestone, using WaveJudge to test full‑stack performance on cm‑wave spectrum and massive‑MIMO prototypes. TextNow introduced...
Ribbon Communications and Amazon Web Services announced a joint, cloud‑native voice communications platform that combines Ribbon’s session border controllers and SIP routing with AWS’s containerized infrastructure. The solution, sold via AWS Marketplace, leverages Kubernetes for rapid migration, scalability and built‑in...
Ciena introduced the Vesta 200 6.4T CPX, a pluggable co‑packaged optical (CPO) engine that delivers the industry’s highest density and up to 70% lower power consumption. The module supports 200 Gb/s per lane, retimer‑free linear‑drive operation and a 20 dB electrical loss budget, enabling...
One New Zealand is undertaking a company‑wide transformation to embed artificial intelligence into every layer of its operations, as explained by Chief AI and Data Director Summer Collins. The initiative centralises data from network, customer, and service systems onto a...
In a recent MIT CISR interview, Summer Collins, One NZ’s Chief AI and Data Director, detailed the telco’s enterprise‑wide push to embed artificial intelligence into its core operations. The initiative centers on a unified data platform, AI‑driven customer service tools,...
Europe’s digital economy is increasingly dependent on a complex data infrastructure that remains vulnerable to prolonged outages. The authors model how a systemic failure could evolve from brief inconveniences to widespread power loss, overwhelmed emergency services, and financial disruption within...
New West Broadcasting, operating six stations on Hawaii’s Big Island, has upgraded its transmission and remote broadcast infrastructure with Tieline’s suite of IP codecs and management tools. The company now uses Bridge‑IT, Gateway, ViA, and MPX codecs, complemented by a...
Intuitive Machines announced a $175 million equity investment following its January acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems, the former Maxar spacecraft manufacturing unit. The funding will expand the 1300 satellite platform, enhance near‑space network services, and pursue a solar‑system internet independent of...

New Gold’s New Afton mine is installing a private LTE/5G network from Ambra Solutions, using an Athonet core and Ericsson radios. The rollout began in March 2024 and follows a three‑phase plan covering remote operations, underground coverage, and surface communications....
California’s Office of Emergency Services will issue a statewide NG911 request for proposals within months, aiming to upgrade all Los Angeles‑area public‑safety answering points (PSAPs) before the 2028 Olympics and complete migration of roughly 450 PSAPs by mid‑2030. The new approach...
Hyundai Motor Group has partnered with Idemia Secure Transactions to embed eSIM‑based connectivity across its Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles. The IST Connectivity Manager, hosted on Microsoft Azure and GSMA‑certified, enables remote carrier switching and over‑the‑air updates. Deployment begins in...
Ookla has formed a strategic partnership with Imagine Wireless to help airport leaders steer digital transformation. The alliance merges Ookla’s network measurement suite—including Speedtest Insights, Speedtest Certified and Ekahau—with Imagine Wireless’s advisory services, delivering independent validation for private 5G, Wi‑Fi...

Internet Service Providers shape every click by routing traffic through dozens of networks, adding latency that spikes during peak hours. Congestion can degrade residential speeds by 25% or more, especially where legacy copper lines remain. ISPs also employ traffic‑shaping tools...

The Orlando Magic has completed a full‑scale conversion of its Kia Center control room from legacy baseband to SMPTE ST 2110 IP‑based infrastructure, finishing just before the 2025‑26 season opener. Systems integrator Alpha, along with Anthony James Partners and Unity Systems...

Minnesota’s broadband director, Bree Maki, warned that new NTIA requirements for BEAD participants – written pledges not to seek additional subsidies – are creating a chilling effect among providers, especially those using Universal Service Fund money. The uncertainty over potential...

The China‑aligned threat group UnsolicitedBooker has begun targeting telecommunications providers in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The campaign employs two custom backdoors, LuciDoor and MarsSnake, delivered through phishing emails that embed malicious Office macros and loaders such as LuciLoad. These implants can...

The satellite ground segment is transitioning from rigid, hardware‑centric "stovepipe" architectures to software‑defined radio (SDR) platforms. By virtualizing modem functions on general‑purpose compute, operators shift spending from capital‑intensive hardware to cloud‑style operational expenditure, gaining near‑instant reconfiguration for beam‑hopping and frequency...
BSNL Director Vivek Bansal’s proposed two‑day Prayagraj trip sparked outrage after an internal order listed elaborate personal hospitality items, including hair oil and undergarments, and assigned around 50 staff to manage the visit. The backlash prompted Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia...

Airbus Defence and Space and Greenerwave have signed two additional contracts worth several million euros, expanding the partnership first announced at the June 2025 Paris Air Show. The deals integrate Greenerwave’s flat‑panel, multi‑orbit, low‑power antennas into Airbus’s end‑to‑end satellite communications...

Frequency One has released its 2026 Operator Infrastructure Maintenance Checklist, a voluntary annual self‑assessment tool for rural broadband operators. The 25‑point framework mirrors the company’s Independent Infrastructure Review and focuses on critical areas such as grounding, surge protection, load compliance,...