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
Vodafone Idea Is Using Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme to Modernise Transport Network
Vodafone Idea (VIL), India’s third‑largest telecom operator, has deployed Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) to upgrade its transport network. The rollout achieved a 1.6 Tb/s capacity on a meshed Data Center Interconnect (DCI) fabric, aimed at meeting surging bandwidth demand. VIL expects the modernised network to support AI workloads and attract hyperscalers, neoscalers, and large enterprise customers. The upgrade positions the carrier to compete more aggressively in data‑intensive services.
Virgin Media O2 Accelerates UK 5G Upgrade Programme
Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has signed multiyear contracts with Ericsson and Nokia as part of a £700 m (≈$889 m) mobile transformation plan to overhaul its UK 5G network. The agreements will upgrade the majority of VMO2’s radio access network to 5G+...
Taiwan’s KBRO Taps Harmonic to Drive Network Upgrade
Taiwan’s leading multiple‑system operator KBRO is upgrading its broadband access network using Harmonic’s fiber‑on‑demand solution built on the cOS™ virtualized platform. The new architecture complements KBRO’s DOCSIS high‑split strategy, allowing demand‑driven fiber expansion and a transition to XGS‑PON for multi‑gigabit...
World Backup Day 2026: A Telecom B2B Guide to Data Protection in the AI Age
World Backup Day on March 31 highlights telecoms’ need for robust data protection amid AI‑driven growth. AI adoption has surged, with 77% of telecom executives citing operational benefits and 61% using AI for analytics, but it also inflates data volumes and...
Service Quality and Consumer Protections to Improve in Proposed Changes to NBN Regulation
The ACCC released a draft determination that will set NBN Co’s regulatory framework from 1 July 2026, proposing lower capital spending, reduced weighted‑average cost of capital, and tighter benchmark service standards. It also upgrades the entry‑level broadband offering to a 25 Mbps download/10 Mbps...
SM Line Ships Get Satellite Systems From SpaceX Subsidiary Starlink Korea
South Korean liner operator SM Line has equipped all 13 vessels in its fleet with satellite communications from Starlink Korea, the local arm of SpaceX. The service leverages more than 8,000 low‑earth‑orbit satellites positioned around 550 km, delivering faster and more...
5G Home Internet Gains Traction as Prices Drop Below $70, But Coverage Gaps Remain
Major U.S. carriers are rolling out 5G home‑internet plans priced between $30 and $70, delivering 100‑300 Mbps speeds that rival cable. A new analysis weighs the service’s cost, performance and coverage against traditional wired options, while Australian regulators tighten mobile‑coverage map...
T‑Mobile Hikes Device Restocking Fees as Postpaid Churn Climbs to 0.93%
T‑Mobile announced a new tiered restocking fee—$75 for devices over $600, $50 for $300‑$599, and $25 for under $300—while its postpaid churn rose to 0.93% in 2025. The move comes amid a wave of price hikes and intensifying competition from...
Telecom News: Ethio Telecom, Safaricom, MTS, MegaFon, T2 Mobile, VimpelCom, Beeline
The Nigerian Communications Commission has mandated that mobile operators provide airtime credits to subscribers when service quality falls below standards, tying fines to infrastructure upgrades. Ethiopia’s government introduced a Universal Access Fund, requiring operators to contribute 1.5% of annual gross...
Telecom News: Fiber Broadband Association, NFR, Bharti Airtel, Tata Teleservices
The Fiber Broadband Association unveiled a "fiber‑first" framework to help U.S. states accelerate middle‑mile fiber deployment, emphasizing cross‑agency coordination, dig‑once policies, and streamlined permitting. The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) rolled out an AI‑enhanced optical‑fiber‑cable (OFC) system at 50 level‑crossing gates,...
Edge AI Cuts Latency by Bringing Compute Closer
From #GTC26: AI performance depends heavily on architecture. @TMobileBusiness and NVIDIA are exploring how edge compute can reduce latency by processing data closer to where it’s created. ⚡ https://t.co/DwZzkJUOUm T-Mobile for Business Partner #EdgeAI https://t.co/ldQpk1r5j2
RPKI vs Social Engineering: A Case Study in Route Hijacking
At APRICOT 2026, APNIC and LACNIC disclosed a BGP hijack in July 2025 that combined technical spoofing with social engineering. The attacker forged identity documents to convince a multinational upstream provider to activate transit for a stolen ASN, enabling short‑lived, unauthorized route...
Starlink Outpaces Cable Firms in Airborne Uplink Speed
@Starlink is serving more uplink to a plane at 500 mph than Kabletown can deliver to your house with a wire. Yikes. $CMCSA $CHTR https://t.co/09s4MJ9QlX
Telstra Overruled in Mobile Coverage Claims Stoush
Australia’s regulator ACMA confirmed its draft standard that classifies signal strengths below –115 dBm as ‘no coverage’, forcing carriers to label maps with four tiers: good, moderate, usable and no coverage. The rule means Telstra could have up to one million...
AT&T Unveils New Bundle
AT&T launched OneConnect, a bundled offering that pairs unlimited wireless service with 1 Gbps fiber home internet for new customers in eligible fiber‑powered markets. The single‑line package is priced at a fixed $90 per month, inclusive of taxes and fees. Two‑user...
Fiber Frenzy
Charter is extending its Spectrum network in Marion County, Florida, to serve more than 15,000 addresses with up to 1 Gbps speeds, and will fund an $18,000 grant for the local Marion Senior Services program to boost digital literacy among older...
Charter Outlines Billing, Community Benefits Post-Merger
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is the last regulator to approve Charter’s $34.5 billion merger with Cox Communications, and both firms responded with a 55‑page filing covering billing, PEG channels, and broadband deployment. Charter asserts the deal will let Cox...
Gigapower Drops FCC Petition
Gigapower, a joint venture between AT&T and BlackRock Global Infrastructure Fund, withdrew its FCC petition after a dispute with the city of Rock Hill, South Carolina, over access to roughly 1,692 city‑owned utility poles. The conflict stemmed from Rock Hill’s...
Fiber Broadband Association Middle Mile WG: How to Use “Digital Infrastructure Networks” For Coordinated Fiber Backbone Investments
The Fiber Broadband Association’s Middle Mile Working Group released guidance urging states to coordinate fiber backbone projects and adopt "dig once" policies to accelerate deployment. It emphasizes that the United States must increase fiber mileage 2.3‑fold by 2029 to meet...
WAVE Achieves First Cloud-to-Gateway Satcom Virtualization with AI Signal Analysis
Members of the IEEE‑backed WAVE Consortium—AWS, Gilat Defense, and SES Space & Defense—demonstrated the first standardized cloud‑to‑gateway satellite communications virtualization using FPGA acceleration. A 10 Mbps video stream was transmitted through a DVBS‑2X modem, digitized at an SES gateway, and processed...
Verizon Cuts $9 B Costs, Completes $20 B Frontier Deal Under New CEO
Verizon Communications, led by CEO Dan Schulman, has reduced combined operating and capital expenses by $9 billion, closed its $20 billion purchase of Frontier Communications and announced a $25 billion share‑buyback. The moves underpin a free‑cash‑flow surge and the company’s 20th straight dividend...
Live in the Booth: AST SpaceMobile President Scott Wisniewski Talks Spectrum Strategy and Defense Potential
AST SpaceMobile President and Chief Strategy Officer Scott Wisniewski highlighted the recent launch of the BlueBird 6 satellite, a new agreement with European carrier Orange, and the company’s evolving spectrum strategy. He announced that AST secured its first Space Development Agency...
SpaceBridge Launches UniHub as Streamlined VSAT Platform
SpaceBridge unveiled UniHub, a compact all‑in‑one VSAT hub that consolidates SDR multichannel modulation, burst demodulation for up to 800 carriers, network communication center functions, QoS, and advanced waveforms like TDMA and dSCPC. The platform promises reduced footprint, lower SWaP, and...
I've Used Google Fi for 8 Years—Here's Why I've Stuck Around for so Long
Joe Fedewa, a veteran tech journalist, has relied on Google Fi for eight years, citing its hassle‑free number porting, flexible pricing and seamless device activation. The carrier’s original $35 base fee plus $10 per gigabyte model remains unchanged, while newer...
How Lumen Is Dismantling Decades of Network Complexity
Lumen Technologies, a $12.4 billion telecom operator with a 500,000‑mile fiber network, faced fragmented inventory from decades of acquisitions, operating over 17 legacy systems and nearly 500 data sources. It built a unified data layer and AI‑driven digital twin, launching the...
Delaware Becomes the Fifth State in IQ Fiber’s Growing Footprint
IQ Fiber officially launched its 100% fiber‑optic service in Kent County, Delaware, marking the company’s entry into its fifth Eastern U.S. state. The rollout is backed by a $150 million investment that will span the next 18‑24 months and generate more...
Invences Empowers Small Businesses With Smart Telecom Networks
Invences, founded in 2023 by telecom veteran Bhaskara Rallabandi, delivers autonomous, low‑cost private 5G/6G networks for small businesses, farms, factories and universities, especially in underserved areas. The Texas‑based startup leverages Open RAN, virtualized RAN, digital twins and agentic AI to...
Local Edge Data Boosts Safety Through Faster Action
Resilience doesn’t sit in the server room. It’s in the hands of the people who depend on low-latency to stay safe 🤝 See how Edge Control + T-Platform keeps data local, cuts latency, and helps teams act faster.↙️ https://t.co/wxAE44qfmi @TMobileBusiness Partner #EnterpriseResilience #DutyOfCare #EdgeControl...
IDB Invest and Proparco Partner with Millicom to Expand Digital Infrastructure Across Latin America
IDB Invest and French development finance firm Proparco are jointly investing $100 million in a Colombian‑peso‑denominated bond issued by Millicom International Cellular. Each institution will anchor $50 million, financing network upgrades across Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Paraguay. The proceeds...
South Korea Extends Facial Recognition SIM Registration Pilot to June 2026
South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT has pushed back the end of its facial‑recognition SIM registration pilot to June 30, 2026. The trial, which began in December, requires users to scan their face at activation to match identity‑document data, targeting fraud...
Orbital Lasers Aim for 100+ Gbps, Cloud Cover Challenges
Lasers promise 100+ Gbps from orbit, but can ground station cost and cloud cover be engineered into non-issues? https://spectrum.ieee.org/satellite-communication-laser-radio-transcelestial?share_id=9303370
Drones Boost Mobile Network Coverage and Reduce Latency
Researchers propose a drone-based system that supports mobile networks by improving coverage, reducing delays, and maintaining fresher data during congestion or outages. https://t.co/XBUAunK4Le
The Financial Trap of Autonomous Networks: Scaling Agentic AI in the Telecom Core
Telecom operators are racing to deploy autonomous, self‑healing networks powered by agentic AI, but the hidden expense of continuously running GPU‑intensive models threatens to overwhelm IT budgets and ESG goals. Traditional Kubernetes Horizontal Pod Autoscaling reacts too slowly for sub‑millisecond...
Discussing AI-Driven Wireless Evolution From 5G to 6G
Tomorrow I'll be speaking on the @FierceNetwork_ Virtual Research Summit: AI-driven wireless: From 5G to 6G. I'll be joining the likes of @malleven33 @RogerEntner @chetansharma and others. Details here: https://t.co/U97rmogo5N JOIN ME!
Ligado Hearing Threatens Viasat; $100M Escrow, Massive Damages Possible
Ligado bankruptcy hearing goes very badly for Viasat. $100M payment from AST will be put in escrow, judge mentions possibility that "the quantum of damages here could really be large to say the least" https://t.co/k8kSucvvPU
ESIM and iSIM for IoT: Remote Provisioning, Flexibility and Scale
Embedded SIM (eSIM) and integrated SIM (iSIM) are reshaping IoT connectivity by allowing carriers and enterprises to provision cellular profiles over the air. eSIM uses a dedicated chip, while iSIM embeds SIM functions directly into the device’s main processor, cutting...
Satellite Broadband Threatens Fixed Operators with Cheaper Economics
"'I think every fixed broadband operator should be very worried,' says CableLabs' Hans Geerdes. He calls satellite broadband 'basically the second coming of fixed wireless, but at much better economics.'" via @thebauminator https://t.co/nxXotQ0TuS
Two‑Thirds of Big Companies Say AI Is Redefining Internet Needs
"Among large businesses we surveyed, 67% said AI has already changed or was changing their Internet access requirements," via Daryl Schoolar, Analyst and Director, Recon Analytics: https://t.co/6dS7FP9otd
The 10 Coolest IoT Connectivity Companies: The 2026 Internet Of Things 50
The 2026 CRN IoT 50 highlights ten connectivity firms reshaping enterprise IoT in the AI era. AT&T’s $5.75 billion acquisition of Lumen’s Quantum Fiber adds 4 million fiber sites, targeting 60 million locations by 2030. Other leaders include Aeris with over 100 million devices, Myriota’s...
FCC Router Ban Threatens 11.2 Million Homes' Internet Access
The FCC router ban is a digital divide bomb hiding in plain sight. The industry isn't talking loudly enough about what this actually means for 11.2 million American households. 🧵🚨 #Telecom #Broadband
Space42 AI Secures 2,800‑Sat Constellation Deal
.@space42ai: Builder of 2,800-sat #Equatys D2D constellation selected, contract imminent; service by 2029; will add average 5% to users' mobile phone bill; 'massive scaleup' in @iceye_global radar capacity planned. @Viasat.https://t.co/JMPykYBVMH https://t.co/pe20Y6y8LT
SoftBank’s Physical AI Push Gives AI-RAN a Sharper Purpose
SoftBank is rebranding from a traditional carrier to an AI‑native infrastructure provider, centering its strategy on Physical AI that couples vision‑language models with robot actions. It proposes an AI‑RAN architecture where edge MEC handles perception and task planning, while the...
Podcast: The Future of Spectrum Auctions
In a PolicyTracker podcast, NERA’s Richard Marsden discusses how spectrum auctions will evolve as 6G and satellite services expand. He predicts a shift toward more clock auctions and the disappearance of combinatorial formats, while auctions will remain the primary allocation...
Orange Steams Ahead in French Railway Connectivity
France’s rail corridors now enjoy near‑universal 4G coverage, yet passenger‑grade connectivity varies sharply among operators. Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence data (Mar 2025‑Mar 2026) shows Orange delivering a median download speed of 283.4 Mbps—52% faster than SFR and more than double Free’s 120.4 Mbps. Latency forms...
The Staggering Cost of Connecting Every South African Household
South Africa requires between R108‑billion and R142‑billion (≈ $5.7‑$7.5 billion) to deliver 100 Mbit/s broadband to every household by 2035, according to a DBSA‑commissioned Digital Infrastructure Investment Study. The study, led by Networks Anonymous strategist Pieter Grootes, breaks costs into new‑build, replacement and...
Hikvision Introduces LinkVu: An Integrated IoT & Networking Solution for SMB Installers
Hikvision has launched LinkVu, a cloud‑managed IoT and networking suite aimed at small‑ and medium‑size business installers. The platform consolidates switches, routers, access points, cameras and other devices under the Hik‑Partner Pro mobile app. Integrated tools such as the HPP...
Top ICT Tenders: SASSA Looks to Modernise WAN
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has issued a tender to modernise its wide‑area network across 461 offices in all nine provinces. The agency seeks a secure, resilient SD‑WAN solution that integrates its existing APN service, provides automated failover,...
NCC Orders Telcos to Compensate Users for Poor Network Service
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered mobile network operators to compensate subscribers with airtime credits when service quality falls below prescribed standards. Compensation will be calculated based on users' average spending and the specific locations of outages, and must...
Telecom Italia Ends Inwit Tower Deal, Halting 2038 Extension
Telecom Italia announced it will not renew its mobile‑tower lease with Inwit, letting the agreement lapse in August 2030 and abandoning a planned extension to 2038. The board’s decision sparked a 3.1% drop in Inwit shares and signals a broader...
Airtel India Neglects Paying Black Members' Support
Someone made a website highlighting @airtelindia's inability to resolve matters, even for the so-called Black users I have a Black membership, I pay ~3,700 monthly, yet their customer support is rarely ever helpful. So this is really satisfying to see https://t.co/SEDJbLcoWL