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
5G From the Sky: New Internet Infrastructure Takes Flight
Sceye has finished a 12‑day endurance test of its high‑altitude platform system (HAPS), a helium‑filled balloon that operates in the stratosphere. The test gathered degradation data to refine the design before commercial flights that will target specific ground areas with 5G broadband. Sceye positions the HAPS as a middle layer between satellite constellations like Starlink and traditional cell‑tower networks, also offering environmental monitoring capabilities. The next phase will focus on delivering internet service to underserved regions.
Icasa Moves to Mandate National Infrastructure Database
South Africa’s communications regulator Icasa has released draft regulations that will require every licensed network operator to submit detailed, geo‑referenced data on fibre, towers, ducts, poles and planned roll‑outs twice a year. The rules create a national rapid‑deployment GIS database,...
Verizon Confirms No Nationwide Outage on April 11, 2026 Amid Isolated Service Reports
Verizon Communications reported that its U.S. wireless and Fios networks showed no nationwide disruption on April 11, 2026, despite scattered user complaints. Real‑time monitoring tools such as Downdetector and Verizon’s own outage checker recorded only normal fluctuations, underscoring the carrier’s...
Amazon Mulls Globalstar Deal as Satellite Stock Jumps 8%
Amazon is reportedly evaluating an investment or acquisition of Globalstar, prompting an 8% rally in the satellite firm’s shares. Analysts cite Globalstar’s worldwide spectrum licenses as a fast‑track for Amazon’s low‑Earth‑orbit broadband ambitions, while competitors such as Iridium and SpaceX...
Ovo Sues Talktalk over Failed Broadband Customer Deal
Ovo Energy has sued TalkTalk over a 2022 deal that transferred about 135,000 broadband customers. TalkTalk stopped paying the agreed instalments after high churn reduced the transaction's value. The dispute comes as Ovo seeks £300 million in new funding while reporting...
Vodafone Idea 5G Plan Which Offers 1GB Daily Data
Vodafone Idea (VIL) launched a Rs 719 (~$8.70) prepaid plan that provides unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS per day, 1 GB of daily 4G data and access to 5G networks. The plan is valid for 72 days, after which data speed falls to...
SpaceX Will Have Static Fire Testing of All 33 Engines
SpaceX announced that it will conduct static‑fire testing of all 33 Raptor engines slated for its Starship launch system. The tests are a key milestone before the vehicle’s high‑frequency launch schedule, which Musk envisions as 100‑plus times the annual cadence...
Amazon Leo to Deploy Ka‑Band mmWave by 2026
Amazon Leo plans to launch services commercially by mid-2026 according to Andy Jassy. The spectrum for user links is millimeter wave (Ka band). Shannon-Hartley Theorem: C = B \log_2(1 + S/N) Where: •C = channel capacity (bits per second) •B = bandwidth (Hz) •S/N =...
SpaceX Valued Near $15 B, Not $16 B, with Starlink $11‑12 B.
The legacy Twitter business was supposed to be $2.9B last year and xAI was hoping for $500M. That would mean SpaceX itself is just over $15B (not the $16B many have been stating) and Starlink is in the region of...
Stephan Rettenberger to Spotlight Next‑Gen Fiber for Scalable Data Centers at FTTH 2026
Stephan Rettenberger will appear on a panel at the FTTH Conference 2026 to examine how fiber technologies can meet the scaling, resilience and latency demands of modern data centers. The discussion targets the convergence of telecom and data‑center architectures amid...
Anterix Tops Analyst Picks as Private LTE Provider for Critical Infrastructure
Anterix (ATEX) was highlighted as a top stock for private wireless broadband serving utilities, earning a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and posting four consecutive earnings beats. Analysts lifted its 2026 EPS outlook to $3.30 and noted a forward PE of...
Nokia’s AI Applications Study: “Physical AI” May Require RAN Redesign to Support High‑volume, Low‑latency Uplink Traffic
Nokia’s recent study of more than 50 AI applications highlights a surge in uplink‑heavy, low‑latency traffic driven by emerging "Physical AI" use cases such as autonomous vehicles and industrial robots. The report finds that delivering sub‑20 ms latency for high‑definition video...
How Satellite Communications Support Aviation, Maritime, and Defense Customers
Satellite communications have become essential for aviation, maritime and defense users that operate beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. Providers such as SES, Viasat and Inmarsat are shifting from pure bandwidth sales to offering continuity, coverage and secure, mission‑critical links....
Acepeak Secures Gold Sponsorship at GCCM Central Asia 2026, Targeting Growth in CIS Markets
Acepeak announced its gold sponsorship of the GCCM Central Asia 2026 carrier summit in Tashkent, positioning the company to deepen ties with mobile operators and wholesale providers in the region. The two‑day event, held April 22‑23, offers a platform for...
Copa Airlines to Add Starlink Wi-Fi, Becoming First in Latin America with the Service
Copa Airlines announced it will equip its Boeing 737 fleet with SpaceX's Starlink satellite Wi‑Fi, launching the service in October. This makes Copa the first carrier in Latin America to offer Starlink’s high‑speed inflight connectivity. The rollout follows CEO Pedro...
I Finally Escaped My ISP's DNS Lock-In with This Device-Level Trick
ISPs often lock down routers, forcing customers to use the provider’s DNS servers, which can slow connections and expose browsing data. By configuring DNS at the device level—or using encrypted DNS protocols—users can bypass these restrictions, improve speed, and enhance...
New Mexico Funds Wi-Fi for Historical Sites
New Mexico’s Office of Broadband Access and Expansion awarded a $460,000 grant to the Department of Cultural Affairs to install free public Wi‑Fi at 12 historic sites, creating 213 new access points. The funding comes from the $100 million Connect New...
Masters Crowds Overload Networks, Most Obey Cellphone Ban
When each round ends, the cell networks in Augusta get slammed so much it’s akin to what carriers experience in the minutes after a disaster. So, per my sources, the vast majority of those at the Masters are following the...
Lenox Town to Lease Public Safety Tower for Cellular Antennas, Aiming to Close Coverage Gap
Lenox, Massachusetts, will put its new public safety complex tower up for lease to Verizon, AT&T, T‑Mobile or other carriers, seeking to plug a persistent cellular dead zone along Route 7/20. The proposal, slated for a May 7 town‑meeting vote, could give...
KORE Teams with Kigen on SGP.32 eSIM to Simplify Global IoT Provisioning
KORE announced a partnership with eSIM specialist Kigen to deliver a GSMA‑compliant SGP.32 connectivity portfolio, slated for commercial launch in late 2026. The offering promises remote provisioning, profile‑based roaming, and localized failover, turning cellular IoT connectivity into a software‑driven service....
"Catch Me If You Can": DT Using AI to Kill Deepfakes
Telecom voice networks are being overrun by fraud, with more than half of global calls now deepfakes, scams or extortion attempts, and the rate exceeds 60% in Mexico. This crisis has driven users to ignore unknown calls and rely on...
SoundHound AI Teams with Associated Carrier Group to Bring Agentic AI to Tier‑2/3 Telecom Operators
SoundHound AI has signed a partnership with Associated Carrier Group (ACG) to provide its agentic AI platform to ACG’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 telecom members. The deal gives smaller carriers access to autonomous AI agents that can resolve customer issues end‑to‑end,...
Iridium Communications Posts 10% EBITDA Rise and Consistent Revenue Gains Through Q3 2025
Iridium Communications (IRDM) posted a 10% jump in operational EBITDA to $136.6 million in its Q3 2025 earnings call, while service revenue climbed 4% to $138.3 million. The company’s consistent quarterly improvements from Q4 2024 through Q3 2025 underscore a resilient satellite‑services business and a...
Cellular IoT Antenna Shipments Hit 757m Units in 2025, Signalling a New Scaling Phase for Device Hardware
Berg Insight reports cellular IoT antenna shipments jumped 23% in 2025, reaching 757 million units. The surge signals that IoT hardware is moving from niche pilots to consumer‑electronics‑scale production. Antenna volumes, unlike module counts, map directly to the number of connected...
Jio Is Quietly Building Its JioXplor Platform for Location Intelligence
Reliance Jio is quietly assembling JioXplor, a location‑intelligence platform that bundles mapping, geocoding, route optimisation and geofencing. By embedding these tools within its own network, Jio can enrich location data with real‑time mobility insights from its massive subscriber base. The...
FCC to Lift Satellite Power Limits, Potentially Boosting Starlink Capacity Sevenfold
The Federal Communications Commission will vote on April 30 to eliminate decades‑old power limits on low‑Earth‑orbit satellites, a change that could increase SpaceX’s Starlink capacity by as much as seven‑fold. The proposal promises faster, cheaper internet for rural users but...
Fiber Monitoring | ProRail Selects Adtran to Strengthen Nationwide Rail Network
ProRail, the Dutch railway operator, has deployed Adtran’s ALM in‑service fiber monitoring solution across its 4,600 km backbone. The 16‑port system provides real‑time visibility into fiber health, alerting operators to breaks, degradation and abnormal attenuation. Implemented with TrueCom, the solution integrates...
Verizon Service Fails in Palo Alto Hotels and Venues
Can’t believe how bad @verizon service is in Palo Alto. No DMs. Just letting you know…especially in hotel and at the Sports Page.
MILLIBEAM Unveils GaN Power‑Amplifier Portfolio Targeting 5G N79 and C‑Band Radar
MILLIBEAM announced a new GaN power‑amplifier line‑up—pre‑driver H4W1A1 and final‑stage H4E1N1—that together provide 57 dB gain and 20 W saturated output across the 4.4‑5.5 GHz band. The portfolio is built for 5G NR band N79 and C‑band phased‑array radar, promising higher efficiency and...
Smart Axiata Secures $50 Million Maybank Financing to Accelerate Cambodia 5G Rollout
Smart Axiata, the Cambodian arm of Malaysia's Axiata Group, has obtained a $50 million financing facility from Maybank Cambodia to speed up 5G network deployment and broader digital infrastructure. The deal aligns with Cambodia’s Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework and...
The Supreme Court Changes the Landscape for Contributory Liability
The U.S. Supreme Court in Cox Communications v. Sony Music narrowed contributory copyright liability to cases where a provider intentionally facilitates infringement. The Court rejected the Fourth Circuit’s knowledge‑plus‑continued‑service test, establishing two intent‑based pathways: affirmative inducement and a service tailored...
SEA-ME-WE-5 Repairs Slow Bangladesh Internet, Highlighting Subsea Capacity Gaps
State‑owned Bangladesh Submarine Cables (BSCPLC) announced that fault‑repair work on the SEA‑ME‑WE‑5 subsea system will run from April 9 evening to April 13 morning, throttling the 1.7 Tbps route between Singapore and Kuakata. The outage forces the country to rely on...
Nebraska Broadband Director Patrick Haggerty to Depart May 1
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen announced that broadband office director Patrick Haggerty will step down on May 1. Haggerty, who joined in 2023, oversaw the state's broadband expansion, securing about $44.5 million in federal funds and $21 million in private investment under the...
The Ultimate Stress: GPS, Low Battery, Hijacked Wi‑Fi
No cortisol hit like searching for a Google Maps address in a pinch, with a low battery, and nothing connecting because Xfinity Wi-Fi has hijacked your phone.
Sangamon County, Illinois, Approves $500M Data Center After Heated Debate
Sangamon County’s board voted 17‑10, with one abstention, to approve CyrusOne’s $500 million data‑center project on 280 acres of farmland in Talkington Township. The decision clears a major zoning hurdle, though additional permits are still required before construction can begin. Supporters...
Ex-FCC Chief Ajit Pai: Wireless Competition Is Driving Prices Down
Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai argued that intensified competition among wireless carriers is pushing prices lower while boosting service quality. He cited a 6% decline in wireless plan costs and a 17% drop in smartphone prices, alongside a 50% rise...
Rural Louisiana Community Center to Become Local Broadband Hub
The St. Joseph Community House in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, has been renovated and repurposed as a local broadband hub. The facility now provides high‑speed workspaces, classrooms for data, language, driver’s training, and free or low‑cost GED/HiSET tutoring. Governor Jeff Landry...
AT&T, Verizon Press SCOTUS To Nix Privacy Fines
AT&T and Verizon have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn more than $100 million in FCC privacy forfeiture orders. They argue the FCC’s use of forfeiture without a jury trial violates their constitutional right to a trial by jury and...
Agentic AI Will Force a Rethink at the Network Edge
Agentic AI introduces autonomous systems that operate independently at the network edge, demanding a shift from centralized cloud models to distributed, real‑time architectures. Cisco’s VP highlights that wide‑area networks must evolve from simple connectivity to a fabric that synchronizes edge...
AT&T's Pricing Blitz Signals Cable's Metric Demise
.@ATT just declared total war on cable's primary growth engine. Their radical pricing shift proves an immediate need for revenue and signals the death of traditional industry metrics. Here is the competitive reality. 🧵🚨
AT&T Secures $2 B Deal to Upgrade FirstNet Public‑Safety Network
AT&T announced a $2 billion agreement to upgrade FirstNet, the federal public‑safety cellular network. The deal splits into roughly $1 billion of direct infrastructure investment and $1 billion of value through reduced service rates, fulfilling a 2025 executive order aimed at strengthening emergency...
Slash Your Phone Bill This April With MobileX’s Flexible Plans Starting at Under $5
MobileX, an MVNO on Verizon’s 5G network, is rolling out ultra‑flexible plans that let users pay only for the talk, text, and data they need. New customers can start with a 10‑day trial for $4.88, which may be credited toward...
FCC Orders North Carolina Translator Back Off the Air for Interference
The Federal Communications Commission has ordered the 150‑watt FM translator W252EL in Cary, North Carolina, to shut down after determining it continues to cause harmful interference with Lakes Media’s Class C3 station WLUS‑FM 98.3 in Clarksburg, Virginia. Despite installing a...
Study: Broadcasters Must `Prepare Now’ for Impact of FCC C-Band Auction
The FCC plans to auction the remaining 100‑180 MHz of upper C‑band spectrum by July 2027, effectively ending broadcasters’ long‑standing satellite option. Unlike the 2020 reallocation, this auction leaves no like‑for‑like replacement, forcing stations to consider Ku‑band, managed IP or hybrid delivery...
Starlink Delivers Ground‑level Internet Speed at 30,000 Ft
Starlink provides an Internet connection in flight that is on par with ground Internet speed & latency
Wi-Fi 7 Sounds Like the Obvious Upgrade Until You Learn What Wi-Fi 6E Already Does
Wi‑Fi 6E opened the 6 GHz band, giving homes a cleaner, less congested spectrum while keeping the same 9.6 Gbps theoretical ceiling as Wi‑Fi 6. Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) raises the peak to 46 Gbps, doubles channel width to 320 MHz, adds 4096‑QAM and Multi‑Link Operation, but real‑world...
500 Tbps of Capacity: 16 Years of Scaling Our Global Network
Cloudflare announced that its global backbone now offers 500 Tbps of provisioned external capacity, a figure that reflects the sum of all interconnection ports across more than 330 cities. The network’s growth—from a single transit link in 2010 to a worldwide...
FCC Clears Hitachi Rail Transponder for BART Communications
.@FCC approves request of Hitachi Rail to allow its transponder, a component of its larger communications-based train control system, to operate in three portions of the 3.8-4.5 MHz band. System is for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) in...
Satellite‑Powered T‑Priority Keeps Ops Connected When Towers Fail
Tower coverage ends. Operations don’t. As a former public safety director, I know comms gaps put people at risk. T-Mobile’s satellite integration into T-Priority is built to bridge the gap. @T_Priority Partner https://t.co/2OXySC3pxk
Total Wireless Rolls Out Free World Cup Tickets, Cheaper Unlimited Plans & More April Savings
Total Wireless is offering a $20 per month unlimited 5G plan for new single‑line customers who bring their own device, with taxes and fees included and a five‑year price guarantee. The carrier also bundles device incentives, including a free Galaxy...