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
Airtel’s Rs 399 Plan Offers Unlimited Data: Here’s What You Get
In February 2026 Airtel launched a Rs 399 (≈ $4.80) prepaid plan that offers fully unlimited 4G and 5G data, unlimited local and STD calls, and 100 SMS per day for 28 days. The plan is available in 15 Indian circles, including Maharashtra, Delhi, and Gujarat, where Airtel added over 2,750 new 5G sites in the past year. It bundles JioHotstar Mobile access, a 12‑month Adobe Express Premium subscription, and free Hellotunes, with commercial data throttled after 300 GB per month. Charges apply beyond the daily SMS limit at Rs 1 ($0.012) for local and Rs 1.5 ($0.018) for STD messages.
ISED Extends Telesat’s Use of Ku-Band for Broadcasting Services
Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) has approved an extension of Telesat’s use of the extended Ku (xKu) band for direct‑to‑home (DTH) broadcasting until November 2039. The decision keeps Shaw Direct’s service, operated by Rogers, on air for another decade, reversing...
Amazon Weighs a Deal to Boost Its Satellite Internet Ambitions. Why It's Worthy Pursuit
Amazon is in talks to acquire satellite operator Globalstar, a move that would expand its fledgling Leo internet‑from‑space service. Leo currently runs about 200 low‑Earth‑orbit satellites, far fewer than SpaceX’s Starlink network of over 10,000 satellites and 10 million users. The...
Amazon in $9‑11 B Talks to Acquire Globalstar, Escalating Satellite Broadband Race
Amazon is negotiating a purchase of Globalstar valued between $9 billion and $11 billion, a move that would bolster its Leo low‑Earth‑orbit constellation and directly challenge SpaceX’s Starlink. The deal faces a hurdle: Apple’s 20% stake in Globalstar, which will require separate...
AT&T, FirstNet Support Comms for NASA's Artemis II Mission Around the Moon
AT&T is supplying connectivity and on‑site support for NASA’s Artemis II mission, enabling near‑Earth and deep‑space communications as the Orion crew circles the Moon. The carrier has upgraded its network and positioned teams at key NASA facilities, while its FirstNet public‑safety...
Oak Hill Capital Completes Acquisition of Hunter Communications
Oak Hill Capital has completed its acquisition of Oregon‑based fiber provider Hunter Communications, a deal first announced in December. Hunter operates a 3,000‑plus‑mile network serving roughly 35,000 customers across the Pacific Northwest. The new capital backing will accelerate fiber expansion...
ETSI Announces OpenCAPIF Release 4 Aligned with 3GPP
ETSI’s OpenCAPIF Software Development Group has launched Release 4.0.0, fully aligned with 3GPP Release 19. The update introduces a Visibility Control API that lets providers dictate who can discover and use their APIs, alongside a scalable certificate architecture that isolates keys per...
Docomo Completes Mobile Core Virtualisation
NTT Docomo has finished virtualising its entire mobile core network, including the 5G standalone core, evolved packet core (EPC) and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), by running them as software on general‑purpose servers. The transition was executed with Cisco, Dell Technologies...
Global Telecom Capex Trends: 10 Key Facts Shaping Industry Investment Strategy Through 2030
Dell’Oro Group reports that global telecom capital expenditure held steady in 2025, marking the first year of flat spending among the 50 largest operators, which account for roughly 80% of industry outlays. Despite the pause in capex, equipment manufacturers saw...
India's Telecom Base Tops 1.32 Billion as Broadband Gains Momentum
India's telecom regulator TRAI announced that the country's total telephone subscriber base climbed to 1.321 billion at the end of February 2026, driven by a 7.31 million net addition largely from broadband. The surge underscores the rapid expansion of both mobile and...
IDTechEx Reports on Optimizing Signal for Communication and Radar with Low Loss Materials
IDTechEx’s new report highlights the rising importance of low‑loss materials for 5G/6G, data‑center, and automotive radar applications through 2036. As high‑frequency signals become more sensitive, dielectric losses threaten bandwidth and reliability, prompting adoption of substrates such as PTFE, LCP, and...
Melon Digital Secures Global eSIM Deal
Melon Digital, an MVNO platform‑as‑a‑service provider, has teamed up with global eSIM specialist Airalo to deliver instant digital connectivity for international visitors in South Africa. The partnership launches an eSIM offering through Melon Mobile, allowing travelers to access data, voice...
Qorvo Introduces Dual-Band 2.4/5 GHz BAW Diplexer for Single-Antenna Wi-Fi Systems
Qorvo has launched the QPQ4701, a bulk‑acoustic‑wave diplexer that integrates 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi‑Fi filtering into a single laminate module. The device covers 2402‑2482 MHz and 5150‑5735 MHz, enabling true dual‑band operation over one antenna for access points, routers, gateways, CPE and...
Wilson Connectivity, Autonomous Systems Team for In-Building Wireless Service
Wilson Connectivity has teamed with Autonomous Systems to launch an automated, AI‑ready network‑lifecycle management service for in‑building wireless infrastructure. The offering blends Wilson’s three‑decade expertise in DAS, private 5G and CBRS with Autonomous’s cloud‑based monitoring platform, delivering real‑time visibility and active...
Amazon Targets Globalstar Amid Apple Stake Complications
Macro: LEO consolidation accelerates as Amazon eyes Globalstar (GSAT +12%). Key: Apple’s 20% stake complicates talks; SpaceX competitive pressure. Risk: deal uncertainty, regulatory review. Trade: buy on confirmed deal. — Viktor Kopylov, PhD, CFA More insights: t.me/si14Kopylov
Just 19% Use Modern Wi‑Fi; Legacy Hinders AI Scaling
"Our research shows that only 19% of organizations are running the latest Wi-Fi generations, and those stuck on legacy systems struggle to scale AI workloads and meet the performance, capacity, and reliability demands of modern, device-dense environments." https://t.co/wlCL1AVkVR
Starlink Shines Bright in Asia-Pacific
SpaceX’s Starlink is accelerating its direct‑to‑device (D2D) rollout across the Asia‑Pacific, with launch dates confirmed for New Zealand’s Spark and Japan’s NTT Docomo, while SoftBank announced future plans. Spark’s offering mixes free access with a NZD10 (~$5.70) fee tier, targeting remote and...
US Home Internet Splits Into Four Converging Terrains
Fiber castles, cable forts, FWA camps and satellite warbands: The US home Internet competitive landscape is fragmenting into four distinct territorial formations, and these formations are reshaping wireless competition through convergence. @Light_Reading https://t.co/HqShaYMenU
Wireless Capital Intensity to Fall to 11% by 2029
"Wireless capital intensity is projected to approach 11 percent in 2029, down seven percentage points from the 5G peak." via @StefanPongratz https://t.co/Jc4QCoS7R7
Siemens Expands Private 5G Play
Siemens announced a major expansion of its private 5G portfolio, adding the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland, France, Norway, and Poland to its footprint, now spanning 15 countries across Europe and the Americas. The U.S. launch will rely...
T‑Mobile Absorbs Netflix Price Hike for Customers
Thank you, @TMobile .. The Un-carrier does a solid for consumers by eating @Netflix new price hike $TMUS https://t.co/xZ2y5ROZRl
Options Technology Adds Direct Connectivity to Japan Alternative Market
Options Technology announced direct, low‑latency connectivity to Japan Alternative Market (JAX), a new proprietary trading system, extending its AtlasFabric network across Japan and the broader APAC region. The integration gives institutional clients managed access to JAX market data and trading...
T‑Mobile, TPG Weigh $5‑6 B Bid for Uniti Group’s Fiber Assets
T‑Mobile US and Fort Worth‑based private‑equity firm TPG are exploring a joint $5‑6 billion acquisition of Uniti Group’s fiber‑to‑home and enterprise fiber assets. The rumor has sent Uniti’s stock sharply higher and could dramatically expand T‑Mobile’s broadband footprint.
Congress Takes Up an Old Problem: Writing Laws for a Future It Can’t See
Congress is revisiting the 1996 Communications Act, recognizing that its landline‑centric framework no longer fits broadband, 5G, streaming and satellite services. Lawmakers face pressure from national‑security concerns, the erosion of the Universal Service Fund, and renewed scrutiny of Section 230....
Data Prices Ease, but Affordability Gap Persists
South Africa’s Competition Commission released its second Cost of Living Report, showing data prices remain below headline inflation but still hinder digital inclusion for low‑income households. Wired broadband growth stayed just under 15 % annually, while wireless data stabilized around 2 %...
Beyond the Network View: DNS-Driven Application Visibility
Network operators often lack visibility into which applications generate traffic. Researchers present an open‑source DNS‑based correlation system that enriches NetFlow and BGP data with application and CDN information, shifting analysis from a purely network‑centric to an application‑oriented view. The method...
Ring, Reject, Repeat: South Africa’s Spam Call Crisis
South Africa faced an unprecedented spam call surge, with Truecaller reporting over 30 billion unwanted calls in 2025 and a 20% year‑on‑year rise in the first quarter of 2026. The flood of scam calls has conditioned users to reject unknown numbers,...
FBI Warns of AVrecon Malware Targeting Network Devices Across 163 Countries
The FBI has issued a warning about AVrecon, a modular malware that compromises home and small‑office routers by exploiting unpatched remote‑code‑execution flaws. The malware was used by the now‑dismantled SocksEscort proxy service, which sold access to roughly 369,000 infected devices...
As More Copper Wire Thefts Knock Out Service, some Point Fingers at Scrap Yards
Copper wire thefts are surging across Canada, with Bell reporting 1,275 incidents in 2025—a 40% jump from the prior year—and Rogers seeing outage hours rise 400% since 2022. In early January, thieves stole 90 kg of copper wire in Clarendon, N.B.,...
Wireless AI Paradox Emerges as Wi-Fi Evolves Into Strategic Growth Engine
Cisco's State of Wireless 2026 report, based on 6,098 decision‑makers, reveals a “wireless AI paradox”: AI drives the biggest ROI while also creating security and talent challenges. Enterprises that treat Wi‑Fi as a strategic asset see compounding benefits—78% report efficiency...
Remote NetApp Array over Photonic Link Nears Local Access Speed
A proof‑of‑concept demonstrated that a NetApp flash array accessed over IOWN’s all‑photonics network (APN) can deliver performance nearly identical to local storage, with less than 1 % increase in GPU training time across distances up to 3,000 km. The 100 Gbps single‑mode fiber...
Bharti Airtel Achieves 650 Mn Subscriber Milestone
Bharti Airtel announced it has crossed 650 million subscribers worldwide, spanning its Indian and African operations. The telecom now ranks second globally by mobile customer base, behind China Mobile, with 386 million mobile users in India and 179 million in Africa. Airtel highlighted...
Amazon in Talks to Buy Satellite Operator Globalstar
Amazon is in advanced talks to acquire satellite‑telecom firm Globalstar as it accelerates its low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) broadband project, Kuiper. Globalstar, valued at about $8.8 billion, saw its shares jump 24% to $85 after the news. The deal would give Amazon access...
Essex Awards £29m Network Contract to MLL
Essex County Council awarded a £29 million (≈ $36.8 million) managed network services contract to MLL Telecom. The agreement covers roughly 175 sites and serves about 9,000 council staff, public and guest users daily. It aims to modernize the enterprise network for hybrid...
Report: UK Broadband Market Flat
The UK broadband market held steady in Q4 2025, adding just 14,000 new connections to reach an estimated 28.96 million total lines. Full‑fibre (FTTP) penetration accelerated to 81.3% of premises, the fastest pace since the nationwide rollout began. Openreach contributed 571 k FTTP...
Russia Cracks Down on VPNs, Fines Users and Apple Delists Apps
Russia’s digital minister announced measures to slash VPN usage, including potential fees for heavy international traffic and penalties for non‑compliant platforms. At the same time, Apple has removed several custom VPN and proxy apps from its Russian App Store, prompting...
Verizon Waives Late Fees for Federal Workers as DHS Shutdown Hits 45 Days
Verizon announced it will waive late fees and provide flexible payment options for Department of Homeland Security employees forced to work without pay during the 45‑day shutdown. The move targets more than 260,000 federal workers and follows similar relief actions...
Verizon Shares Surge 24% in 2026 as Dividend Rises to $0.71
Verizon Communications saw its shares climb 24% year‑to‑date through March 27, 2026, after reporting record post‑paid phone additions, raising its quarterly dividend to $0.71 and finalising the Frontier Communications acquisition that expands its fiber footprint to over 30 million premises.
India's Telecom Imports From China Rise to $6.37 Billion in 2023-24: Pemmasani
India’s telecom imports from China climbed to $6.37 billion in the 2023‑24 fiscal year, up from $5.55 billion in 2019‑20. Total telecom‑equipment imports rose to $17.01 billion, reflecting a broader expansion in the sector. To curb dependence, the government introduced a public procurement...
AT&T Launches OneConnect Bundle, Merging Unlimited Mobile with Gigabit Home Internet
AT&T introduced OneConnect today, a single subscription that pairs unlimited mobile service with 1 Gbps fiber broadband for $90 to $225 a month. The plan is limited to new customers, includes taxes and fees, and could pressure rivals to rethink bundled...
NBN Delivers Steady Performance, but some Consumers Missing Out on Full Plan Speeds
The ACCC’s latest Measuring Broadband Australia report shows that most Australian households on NBN fixed‑line services achieved 98.5% of their advertised plan speeds during peak evening hours in December 2025. The newly introduced NBN Home Fast plan (500/50 Mbps) delivered an...
GoNetspeed Achieves 100% Fiber Coverage in North Hamden
GoNetspeed announced that North Hamden, Connecticut, has achieved 100% fiber‑optic internet coverage after a privately funded $6 million investment. The rollout will serve more than 8,000 residents and businesses with symmetrical speeds ranging from 500 Mbps to 6 Gbps. Construction continues neighborhood by...
Grain Looking to Market 800 MHz for Direct-to-Cell
Investment firm Grain Management has acquired T‑Mobile’s 800 MHz spectrum and 600 MHz holdings for about $2.9 billion, aiming to lease or sell the airwaves to satellite operators for direct‑to‑cell (D2D) services. The companies seek FCC waivers to suspend build‑out deadlines and allow...
Meghalaya Govt Signs MoU With Starlink To Pilot Satcom Services
The Meghalaya government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Elon Musk’s Starlink to pilot satellite broadband in the state’s most remote areas, focusing on schools, health centres and farms. The pilot will test high‑speed internet reliability before a broader...
0.45-8 GHz 16-Way SMA Female Power Divider
URF Inc. launched a high‑precision 16‑way SMA female power divider covering 0.45‑8 GHz, featuring an ultra‑low 1.55:1 VSWR and ±0.4 dB/±8° balance. The unit delivers less than 4.2 dB excess loss, 16 dB isolation, and can handle up to 150 W peak power. Priced at...
Broadband Expansion Alone Won’t Close the Digital Divide, Panelists Warn
Industry leaders warned that expanding broadband infrastructure alone will not close the U.S. digital divide. While the $42.45 billion BEAD program has funded new networks, 24 % of seniors—about 19 million people—remain offline, and rural communities still face adoption hurdles. Panelists highlighted affordability,...
DWDM Multiplies Fiber Capacity, Accelerating Data Center Speeds
Dense wavelength division multiplexing can transmit multiple optical signals over a single fiber, greatly speeding up information transfer in data centers. https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-data-centers-dwdm-optics
FirstNet Pushes AST Beta Launch to Later This Year
FirstNet announces that AST beta service is delayed to "later this year" instead of "the first half" of 2026 as they indicated in December. Hardly a surprise given the lack of satellites... https://t.co/6YGSWKm4sN
CanarySat CEO Antonio Abad Outlines the Sovereign, Secure Approach Behind the Magec Constellation
CanarySat, backed by Spain’s Arquimea, unveiled its Magec constellation – a planned 264‑satellite Ka‑band LEO network aimed at sovereign, secure communications for governments, critical infrastructure and essential enterprises. The company, less than a year old, leverages five years of design...
FCC Rules May Stall U.S. Shift to Newer Wi‑Fi
Rroughly 28% of all Speedtest samples in the U.S. ran over Wi-Fi 5, and around 7% used Wi-Fi 4 or older. Additional FCC rules affecting router vendors could potentially slow U.S. adoption of newer Wi-Fi technologies. MORE: https://t.co/UBgJUHlay2 https://t.co/Nog9KRnqDa