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
TRAI Urges Users to Check Internet Performance with MySpeed App Amid Connectivity Concerns
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has launched an updated MySpeed app for Android and iOS to let consumers measure real‑time internet performance. The tool tests mobile (3G, 4G, 5G) and fixed‑line Wi‑Fi connections, reporting download/upload speeds, latency and packet loss. TRAI urges users to run tests at various times of day to verify that providers meet advertised speeds. Data collected anonymously will support TRAI’s broader network‑quality monitoring framework.
Akasa Rolls Out Realtek-Based 10GbE PCIe Card for Multi-Gig Upgrades
Akasa has launched the AK-PCCE10-01, a PCIe 3.0 ×2 network card using Realtek RTL8127AT to deliver 10 GbE over a standard RJ45. The card auto‑negotiates speeds from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps, supports IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet, Wake‑on‑LAN and jumbo frames up to 16 KB....
Centracom’s Pindrop Takes the Pain Out of Wholesale Fibre
South Africa’s Centracom has launched Pindrop, a platform that consolidates wholesale connectivity options—including fibre, microwave, satellite and 5G—into a single address‑based view. The service not only shows availability and pricing but also handles ordering, project management and ongoing support, giving...
Analyst: Blue Origin Failure Risks Industry Timelines, D2D Competition
AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7, launched on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, failed to reach its intended low‑Earth orbit and is being decommissioned. The setback slows the planned cadence of six‑ton BlueBird antenna launches, jeopardizing the company’s goal of deploying 45 units this...
Thailand Fixed Broadband Growth to Drive 2.6% Telecom Revenue CAGR Through 2030
Thailand’s fixed communication services market is projected to expand at a 2.6% compound annual growth rate through 2030, led by a 3% CAGR in fixed broadband. Growth is anchored in accelerating fiber‑to‑the‑home deployments and expanding fixed wireless access, while fixed‑voice...
Telecom News: Wire 3, Comcast, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio
Wire 3 announced a full‑fiber rollout in Albany, with construction slated for summer 2026 and first connections expected by fall, promising symmetrical high‑speed service. Comcast is extending its Xfinity multi‑gigabit fiber footprint to three Missouri cities, covering more than 4,200...
Telecom News: GTT Communications, Eutelsat, Co-Op Cable, FBR Solutions
GTT Communications unveiled a 2026 AI‑driven roadmap that upgrades its Envision platform, adds a real‑time cybersecurity framework, and expands SASE, hybrid cloud, and satellite connectivity services. Eutelsat partnered with Co‑op Cable to launch a bundled direct‑to‑home TV and broadband offering...
Comcast Eyes Mixed Q1 Outlook as Broadband Losses Meet Sports‑Driven Ad Surge
Comcast is set to report first‑quarter 2026 results with consensus estimates of $30.84 billion in revenue and 73 cents per share earnings, down 33% YoY for EPS but up 3% YoY for revenue. Analysts flag broadband subscriber losses and ARPU pressure, while...
Why Roaming Friction Is Not a Technical Problem
Despite near‑universal 5G coverage and robust inter‑carrier agreements, roaming still feels cumbersome. The article argues that the friction stems from legacy commercial models designed to protect domestic revenue, not from technical limitations. With international travel rebounding to 1.4‑1.5 billion arrivals, user...
Airbus, Thales Alenia Space and RADMOR Ink Deal for Poland’s First Sovereign GEO Satellite
Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space and Polish firm RADMOR have signed an industrial cooperation agreement to develop Poland’s first sovereign geostationary defence telecommunications satellite. The pact, announced in the presence of Poland’s defence minister and France’s armed forces...
Telcos vs OTT Apps: Trai's Spam Rules Spark Row with Airtel, Jio, Vi
India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) has drafted amendments that would bar call‑management apps such as Truecaller from tagging commercial 140 and 160‑series numbers as spam and would force them to feed user‑generated spam reports into the regulator’s Do‑Not‑Disturb registry. Leading...
SBI Moves SC Seeking Review of Spectrum Ruling, Flags Impact on Telecom Insolvencies
State Bank of India, representing lenders to the bankrupt Aircel group, has filed a petition with India’s Supreme Court to review the February 13 judgment that bars telecom spectrum from being treated as an asset in insolvency proceedings. The bank argues...
China Tests 11,400‑ft Deep‑Sea Cable‑Cutting ROV, Raising Stakes for Global Telecom Infrastructure
China announced that its Haiyang Dizhi 2 research vessel has successfully trialed a remotely operated vehicle capable of slicing undersea fiber‑optic cables at 11,483 feet (3,500 m). The device, which also repairs cables, uses aerospace‑grade electro‑hydrostatic actuators and a diamond‑coated cutter, giving Beijing...
Crown Castle Inc (CCI) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Crown Castle reported a solid first‑quarter performance, delivering 5.1% organic tower revenue growth and a $3 million non‑recurring intercompany billing benefit. The company reaffirmed its 2025 outlook of 4.5% organic tower growth, roughly $2.8 billion adjusted EBITDA and $1.8 billion AFFO, while announcing...
Convergence, LEOs and AT&T
AT&T’s first‑quarter 2026 earnings call highlighted a 45% convergence rate of customers buying wireless and internet together, a three‑point YoY increase and the fastest growth in the company’s history. The carrier added 584,000 advanced‑connectivity customers, split evenly between fiber and...
The Strategy Behind Comcast’s Refreshed Xfinity Mobile Plans
Comcast has streamlined Xfinity Mobile into two clear plans—Mobile Select at $30 per line and Mobile Plus at $45—phasing out its previous by‑the‑gig pricing. Both tiers include unlimited talk and text, while Select offers 50 GB premium data and a Global...
AT&T Inc (T) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
AT&T reported a strong 2025 finish, delivering over 1.5 million post‑paid phone adds and more than 1 million fiber net adds, the longest streak for both metrics. The company returned $12 billion to shareholders, a 50% increase year‑over‑year, while guiding free cash flow...
GCI Buying Quintillion
GCI announced it will acquire Alaskan fiber infrastructure firm Quintillion in a deal valued at $310 million. The transaction merges Quintillion’s 1,800+ miles of subsea and terrestrial fiber, plus roughly 1,500 miles of planned expansion, with GCI’s statewide network. GCI will...
FCC Grants AST SpaceMobile Authority for 248-Satellite Constellation and Direct-to-Cell Service
The FCC issued Order DA 26‑391 on April 21, 2026, granting AST SpaceMobile permission to launch and operate a 248‑satellite non‑geostationary constellation. The authorization expands the company’s original five‑satellite test‑bed to include 223 additional satellites, enabling direct‑to‑cell service that lets standard smartphones connect to...
RootMetrics D2D Texts Take 1 S–5 Min, Avg 1
The longest amount of time it took for the RootMetrics’ kit to successfully send and receive a D2D text was 5 minutes. The shortest amount of time was 1 second. The average amount of time was 1 minute, 17 seconds. https://t.co/PajgLybGDh
Deutsche Telekom Flirting with T-Mobile Takeover – Report
Deutsche Telekom (DT) is weighing a full merger with its U.S. subsidiary T‑Mobile, where it currently holds a 53% stake. The plan would create a new holding company that could list on both U.S. and European exchanges, consolidating ownership under...
Ookla: D2D Satellite Connectivity Surged 24.5% During Last 9 Months; Starlink’s Footprint Expansion Leads the Way
Ookla reports that direct‑to‑device (D2D) satellite connections jumped 24.5% between July 2025 and March 2026, driven largely by Starlink’s rollout into Chile, Ukraine, Peru and the UK. Starlink now dominates the market, supplying the bulk of D2D traffic alongside smaller players such...
Supreme Court Arguments Make It Clear that FCC Fines Are "Nonbinding"
The Supreme Court heard AT&T and Verizon argue that FCC forfeiture orders violate their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. The carriers were fined $104 million for selling real‑time location data without consent, but justices signaled that FCC penalties are...
Digital Equity and the Way We Build Networks - Episode 5 of Unbuffered
In this episode of Unbuffered, hosts Chris Mitchell, Jade Piros de Carvalho, and Sean Gonsalves dissect Stephan Shuler’s article "The Free Market Lie," which compares internet access models in the United States, Germany, and Switzerland. They explore how the U.S.’s...
MBA Group Acquires Textplode, Adding RCS Capability and Strengthening Mobile Messaging Infrastructure
MBA Group completed its acquisition of Textplode on March 31, 2026, boosting the combined turnover to up to £135 million (about $171 million) and expanding its workforce to 325. The deal brings more than a decade of proprietary SMS infrastructure and software into MBA’s...
PODCAST: Axyom.Core Gives Wireless Operators a New 5G Core Upgrade Path
Axyom.Core introduced a flexible 5G core upgrade path aimed at both Tier 1 and regional wireless operators. The offering gains urgency after Microsoft announced the phase‑out of its Affirmed Networks portfolio, leaving carriers without a key 4G/5G platform. Axyom.Core’s solution supports...
Ookla Data Shows Starlink D2D Rollout in Peru
The gradual rollout of D2D is clearly visible in Ookla data for Peru, where Starlink Mobile launched D2D services with Entel in December: https://t.co/PajgLybGDh https://t.co/qhkkFr9Vev
Ookla Maps Growing D2D Satellite Connections Across Nations
Ookla data helps to shine a light on progress in the D2D marketplace via data derived from Android smartphones that register with satellites. Here are the countries where Ookla has recorded such connections between July 2025 and March 2026: https://t.co/PajgLybGDh...
CentrePort Realises First Operational Benefits of Private 5G Network
CentrePort has rolled out its private 5G network across key equipment, installing Peplink modems on reach stackers, empty container handlers and fully electric internal movement vehicles. The upgrade replaces unreliable public 4G connections that created dead zones, delivering uninterrupted connectivity...
Retevis Unveils UHF Radio System to Eradicate Dead Zones on Construction Sites
Retevis has rolled out a new UHF two‑way radio and repeater solution designed to remove communication blind spots on multi‑story and underground construction projects. The RT97L repeater paired with the RT29 radio promises stronger signal penetration through concrete, steel and...
Volotea and Immfly to Launch Next-Gen High-Speed Connectivity for Enhanced Inflight Experience
Volotea and Immfly announced a joint rollout of next‑generation inflight connectivity, beginning with a trial of Gogo’s ESA antenna on the Eutelsat LEO satellite constellation slated for the second half of 2026. The high‑speed, low‑latency link will be installed on...
Iran Blames US for Coordinated Network Shutdowns
Iranian media is reporting that networking infrastructure suffered coordinated shutdowns, and blames the US. https://t.co/Gil1Z55HhM
Rogers Launches New 5G+ Ultimate Plan Offering Priority Network Access
Rogers introduced a new 5G+ Ultimate mobile plan that bundles unlimited high‑speed data, up to 2 Gbps speeds, and priority network access with a five‑year price guarantee. The plan costs $95 CAD (≈$69 USD) per month, or $80 CAD (≈$58 USD) when paired with Rogers...
T‑Mobile’s Speed Edge Is Irrelevant to Users
.@TMobile 's network strength is statistically meaningless. Being 10-20 Mbps faster than @Verizon changes nothing in user experience. The speed war is over and carriers are too busy bragging to notice the battlegrounds have shifted. 🧵🔥
Satellite Services for Maritime Organizations
In April 2026 the maritime satellite market reorganized into three distinct service layers—safety and compliance, operational broadband, and data‑visibility. The International Maritime Organization’s new digitalization strategy and VDES rollout push shipowners to buy layered packages rather than single‑network solutions. Larger fleets...
Race Communications Breaks Ground on Bakersfield Fiber Network
Race Communications announced the start of construction on a new fiber‑optic network in Bakersfield, aiming to bring high‑speed, future‑proof internet to more than 50,000 homes and businesses. The rollout will offer symmetrical speeds up to 10 gigabits per second, with the...
Thales, Viasat and Partners Complete Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Connectivity Demo
Viasat, Thales, Dimetor, TTP plc and the European Space Agency completed successful Beyond‑Visual‑Line‑of‑Sight (BVLOS) flight trials at Cranfield University using a Bulldog light aircraft. The tests, part of ESA’s Iris RPAS airspace‑modernisation programme, demonstrated a trusted multi‑link architecture that blends...
How Weather and Environment Affect Direct-to-Device Satellite Communications Operators and Services
Direct‑to‑device (D2D) satellite services let standard smartphones connect to LEO constellations without a dish, but weather and environment affect them far more than classic rain‑fade. T‑Mobile reported over 1 million users, 650 000 SMS and 200 emergency alerts during early‑2026 wildfires and...
U.S. D2D Signals Mostly Between -108 and -126 dBm
In the U.S., most D2D signal strength measurements (using RSRP, or Reference Signal Received Power) fell between -108 and -126 dBm. MORE: https://t.co/PajgLybGDh https://t.co/x99eTA18Yb
Consumer Purchasing Guide for Satellite Broadband Services in the United States 2026
The April 2026 Consumer Purchasing Guide maps the U.S. satellite broadband landscape, which is now limited to three retail providers—Starlink, Hughesnet and Viasat. Starlink leads with low‑earth‑orbit latency, a broad catalog and month‑to‑month pricing, while Hughesnet relies on geostationary capacity and...
Business Purchasing Guide for Satellite Broadband Services in the United States 2026
The 2026 Business Purchasing Guide maps the U.S. satellite broadband market into two buying paths: a retail‑style self‑serve model for SMBs and a quote‑driven enterprise process. Starlink, Hughes and Viasat dominate the publicly priced segment, while SES, Eutelsat OneWeb, Iridium...
5G Standalone Drives Cost Efficiency as Operators Balance Scale, ARPU Growth, and Cloud-Native Transformation
The telecom industry is moving from 5G rollout to cost‑efficiency and revenue generation by adopting cloud‑native standalone (SA) architectures. Analysys Mason estimates that a cloud‑native 5G SA deployment can lower total cost of ownership by 25‑38% through automation, virtualization and...
Not So SMARTBOX? Gray Accuses Dish Of Carriage Violation
Gray Media has lodged a formal complaint with the FCC alleging that DISH Network violated retransmission‑consent rules. The dispute stems from a CBS affiliate in Knoxville being carried on a DISH‑owned distribution platform at a local hotel. Gray’s attorney from...
Wireless Network Wars Ended; Industry Still Clueless
The wireless network wars are over. And most of the industry hasn't figured it out yet. 🧵📡
U.S. Dominates Global D2D Connections at 45.9%
The U.S. leads the world in D2D connections, accounting for 45.9% of all global D2D connections in March 2026. Other countries showing noteworthy numbers of D2D connections in March 2026 included Australia (18.1% ), Chile (10%) and Canada (9.8%) MORE: https://t.co/PajgLycesP
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,...
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
The Shift From Telcos to Intent-Nets
Autonomous generative AI agents are prompting telcos to evolve from rule‑based networks to Intent‑Nets, where user intent is translated directly into network actions. To achieve this, operators must close a 5G deployment gap and build agentic orchestration layers that can...
Roanoke Cooperative Plans $2.4 Million Rural North Carolina Fiber Expansion
Roanoke Cooperative’s fiber arm, Fybe, secured a $2.4 million state grant to extend high‑speed broadband to 826 sites across eight rural North Carolina counties. The expansion, funded through the state’s Stop‑Gap Solutions program and backed by ARPA money, targets areas long...
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