Today's Telecom Pulse
SpaceX’s Starlink generates $3.3B in Q1 2026, 69% of quarterly revenue
SpaceX reported Starlink revenue of $3.3 billion in Q1 2026, representing 69% of its total quarterly revenue of $4.7 billion. In fiscal 2025, Starlink contributed $11.4 billion of the company's $18.7 billion revenue, while the launch segment generated $619 million in Q1 and $4.1 billion for the year. The AI division posted a $6.4 billion loss despite $12.7 billion in capital expenditures.
Also developing:
By the numbers: BizLink acquires Interplex Datacom for $850M
Zain Launches ‘Regulatory Academy’ with GSMA Advance
Zain Group has teamed with GSMA Advance to launch the Zain Regulatory Academy, an industry‑first training hub under its Inclusion, Diversity & Equity University (IDEU). The academy delivers GSMA‑accredited public‑policy and regulatory‑impact certification through self‑paced modules, expert seminars and regional content covering 5G, IoT, cybersecurity and fintech. IDEU already engaged 2,000 employees, achieving a 92% pass rate and issuing over 10,000 certificates. The partnership aims to build a sustainable talent pipeline and position Zain’s regulators as thought leaders across its eight MENA markets.
Askey Picks pureLiFi to Bring LiFi to the Mass Market
Askey announced a partnership with pureLiFi to embed the company’s proprietary LiFi bridge directly into its 5G fixed‑wireless access (FWA) customer premises equipment. The all‑in‑one solution combines a high‑performance 5G modem with through‑window wireless power, delivering gigabit‑class indoor broadband without...
Yaqoot by Zain KSA and Huawei Strengthen BSS and Enhance Digital Service Competitiveness
Zain KSA’s digital platform Yaqoot has partnered with Huawei to overhaul its Business Support Systems (BSS). The upgrade leverages Huawei’s AI‑ready, cloud‑native BSS suite, which already supports over 2.5 billion subscribers worldwide. The new infrastructure promises faster time‑to‑market for digital services,...
Outdated Prison Infrastructure Presents Unique Opportunity for BEAD Non-Deployment Funds
NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth’s “Benefit of the Bargain” reforms stripped unnecessary conditions from the BEAD broadband grant program, generating roughly $22 billion in saved deployment costs. The statute allows unspent BEAD funds to be redirected toward related goals, and pending guidance...
US Mobile Jumps Into Prepaid Convergence with Starlink Partnership
US Mobile launched a prepaid convergence bundle in April 2026 that pairs its multi‑network MVNO service with a six‑month discounted Starlink residential broadband plan. The offer lets customers switch among AT&T, T‑Mobile and Verizon networks while adding a fixed‑line anchor...
Explainer: The War in Iran Now Threatens the Global Internet
Iran has warned that the Strait of Hormuz’s submarine cables are a vulnerable chokepoint for the region’s digital economy, underscoring the strategic importance of the undersea network that carries roughly 99% of global internet traffic. The waterway links Southeast Asia,...
7 MHz Brings Much Needed Flexibility to 5G NR
3GPP Release 19 introduces a native 7 MHz channel bandwidth for 5G NR in FR1, addressing the long‑standing mismatch between standardized 5 MHz steps and operators’ fragmented spectrum holdings. The new bandwidth targets low‑band carriers such as n5 and n26 and retains a...
Nokia Strengthens Middle East and Africa Strategy via Egypt
During the Finnish president’s visit, Nokia’s Middle East and Africa President Mikko Lavanti met Egypt’s ICT minister to announce a new end‑to‑end regional hub in Cairo. The hub will provide technical support and managed services for Nokia’s 5G, cloud and...
Telenor Q1 2026 Results: Revenue Falls to NOK 18,197 Mn, ARPU Growth in Nordics, Capex Drops 7.4% Amid 5G Maturity
Telenor posted a 1.4% revenue dip to NOK 18.2 bn (≈$2 bn) in Q1 2026, with service revenue falling 1.3%. Despite the decline, average revenue per user (ARPU) rose across the Nordics, notably a 4% increase in Norway, while operating expenses fell 2.4% thanks...
SpaceX Hits 50 Launches in 2026, Adds 25 Starlink Satellites
SpaceX launched its 50th Falcon 9 mission of 2026 on April 26, sending 25 Starlink broadband satellites into low‑Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The launch marks the 15th flight of booster 1088 and pushes the company toward a projected 160...
RIL to Set up India’s Largest Data Centre Cluster in Andhra Pradesh
Reliance Industries announced a ₹1.6 lakh crore (~$17 billion) investment to build India’s largest data‑centre cluster in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The giga‑scale AI facility will total 1.5 GW of capacity across three phases, with a 500 MW first phase slated for commercial operation by October 2028 and...
Nvidia Takes $1 B Stake in Nokia to Power AI‑Driven 6G Networks
Nvidia has bought a $1 billion, 8% equity position in Nokia at $6.01 per share, tying the deal to joint development of AI‑native radio access network (RAN) hardware. The partnership targets the emerging $200 billion AI‑RAN market as carriers move toward 6G.
T‑Mobile Gives Away iPhone 17 Pro with $1,100 Credit on Premium Plans
T‑Mobile announced that customers who trade in any eligible device and sign up for an Experience Beyond or Go5G Next plan will receive the iPhone 17 Pro for free, via $1,100 in 24‑month bill credits. The promotion expands the carrier’s previous...
D2D: Niche or Mainstream Opportunity?
The post explores the emerging D2D standard that lets smartphones communicate directly with satellites, questioning whether it will stay a niche technology or become mainstream. While current adoption is limited to extreme‑environment IoT and adventure use cases, the author argues...
Consumer Cellular Appoints Kannan Alagappan as CIO to Drive Tech Modernization
Consumer Cellular announced Kannan Alagappan as its chief information officer, effective April 27, 2026. The veteran technologist brings more than three decades of telecom experience to help the senior‑focused carrier upgrade its network and digital services.
ULA Atlas V Lifts 29 Amazon Kuiper Satellites, Sets Record 23‑day Turnaround
United Launch Alliance successfully launched 29 Amazon Kuiper broadband satellites on an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, marking its fastest pad turnaround at 23 days and raising the Kuiper constellation to 270 operational satellites. The launch underscores Amazon’s push toward...
Cox Pole Attachment Complaints Lives On
Cox Communications has kept its FCC pole‑attachment complaint against Oklahoma Gas & Electric alive after the agency’s Enforcement Bureau rejected OG&E’s motion to dismiss. The complaint, filed in December, alleges that OG&E’s annual pole‑rental rates are unreasonable and that the...
Fiber Frenzy
Comcast has begun connecting the first residents of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, to its multi‑gigabit symmetrical fiber network. The rollout will eventually serve more than 6,000 addresses across Bloomsburg, Hemlock Township and Scott Township, with full deployment targeted for 2027. Meanwhile, Archtop...
Google Hits 50% IPv6
Google announced that half of its global traffic now arrives over IPv6, marking a symbolic milestone for the next‑generation Internet protocol. The 50 % figure reflects rapid growth but does not instantly resolve lingering technical and operational gaps. Industry observers note...
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
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...
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...