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
India Can't Let BSNL Fail but It Seems Incapable of a Turnaround
India’s state‑run telecom operator BSNL has absorbed three government‑funded revival packages totaling roughly $38 billion yet remains loss‑making, with its wireless market share slipping to 7.44% in January 2026. The latest 4G rollout, delayed by an indigenous‑technology mandate, arrived only last year while rivals Jio and Airtel push ahead with 5G monetisation. Rural subscriber share has fallen to 33%, underscoring a weakening social mandate, and officials now argue BSNL should focus on infrastructure rather than direct competition.
5G Deployment Drives Rural Development in Guangxi China
China Mobile and Huawei have rolled out a 5G information superhighway across Chongzuo, Guangxi, giving 94% of its natural villages 5G coverage. In Buhua Village, the upgrade has lifted collective annual income to roughly $69,000 and raised per‑capita earnings by...
Antevia Joins O-RAN ALLIANCE to Drive Enterprise 5G
Antevia Networks has joined the O‑RAN Alliance to help shape open standards for private 5G deployments. The move supports its 5G Shift solution, which uses cloud‑native, virtualised RAN built on commercial‑off‑the‑shelf hardware. Shared Cell technology consolidates multiple radios into a...
Viasat & QEST Explore Next-Generation Multi-Band Antenna
Viasat and antenna specialist QEST have begun a joint study to create a dual‑band X‑band/Ka‑band airborne terminal that builds on Viasat’s Hybrid SATCOM Approach platform. The project will replace the GAT5530’s Ku‑band aperture with QEST’s TRL‑9 X‑band hardware, enabling aircraft...
MWC Barcelona 2026 Through Comarch Communications’ Eyes: Agentic AI, Satellites, and Cross-Industry Convergence
At MWC Barcelona 2026 the telecom sector signaled a pivot from pure 5G rollout to extracting commercial value through agentic AI, open network APIs and satellite‑terrestrial convergence. Operators are recasting themselves as orchestrators of digital ecosystems that serve energy, logistics,...
Telecom News: Comporium, T-Mobile, Spirent Communications
Comporium announced a $4.7 million fiber rollout in Transylvania County, North Carolina, aimed at closing broadband gaps in rural communities. T‑Mobile’s Hometown Grants program has now surpassed $21.5 million, funding infrastructure projects in 475 small towns across 49 states and Puerto Rico....
BSNL to Add up to 60,000 More Towers, FY26 Operating Profit to Grow in Double Digits: Scindia
State‑run BSNL will add 50,000‑60,000 new mobile towers, bringing its total to roughly 1.6 lakh sites, to strengthen its 4G network before a rapid upgrade to 5G. The telecom ministry highlighted a record capital outlay of ₹20,000 crore (about $2.4 billion) for the...
Telcos Navigate Subsea Cable Risks; Centre Asks for Analysis, Fallback Options as War Rages
India’s telecom regulator has asked carriers and subsea‑cable operators to produce a risk analysis and fallback plans as the war in West Asia threatens undersea data pipelines. The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly one‑third of India’s westbound traffic to the...
American Airlines in Talks with Starlink and Amazon for Wi-Fi Upgrade, Weighs Return of Seatback Screens
American Airlines is negotiating with SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Leo platform to overhaul Wi‑Fi and entertainment on its narrow‑body fleet, while also weighing the re‑installation of seat‑back screens. The carrier, which removed screens a decade ago to cut weight and...
Telstra to Add Flink to Its Event Streaming Capabilities
Telstra announced it will integrate the Apache Flink stream‑processing engine with its existing Kafka‑based event streaming platform, launching the project in the coming months. The pairing, delivered through Confluent’s managed services, aims to boost real‑time analytics across Telstra’s network observability...
USSI Global Opens Media Transport Solutions Lab
USSI Global has opened its Media Transport Solutions Lab in Melbourne, Florida, offering a platform‑agnostic environment to test alternatives to the FCC’s C‑Band media transport. The lab lets broadcasters, MSOs and network operators configure and re‑configure satellite, IP and cloud...
ORAN Development Company Lands $45M
ORAN Development Company (ODC) closed a $45 million Series A funding round, led by a consortium of technology and telecom powerhouses. The round featured investors such as Booz Allen, Cisco Investments, Nokia, NVIDIA, AT&T, MTN, and Telecom Italia, alongside Phoenix Venture Partners...
RCS 4.0 Finally Fixes the One Thing that Made Me Consider Buying an iPhone
The GSMA unveiled RCS Universal Profile 4.0 on March 26, 2026, introducing native video calling directly within messaging apps. The update also adds rich‑text formatting and enhanced Rich Card video streaming for businesses. By allowing a seamless transition from chat to video, Android...
World Cup 2026 to Test Mobile Networks Across North America
The 2026 World Cup will stretch mobile networks across the United States, Canada and Mexico as 16 stadiums host millions of fans. Ookla data shows U.S. venues delivering the fastest median mobile download speeds, with Canadian sites trailing and Mexican...
NCC Unveils Framework to Curb Fraudulent SIM Activities
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has opened a stakeholder consultation on its new Telecoms Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS) aimed at blocking fraudulently registered SIM numbers. The framework proposes amendments requiring a 14‑day notice before a line is churned and...
Verizon Customers Get a Budget-Friendly Unlimited 5G Escape With This $10/Month Plan
Noble Mobile is offering Verizon Wireless customers a limited‑time promotion that provides three months of its unlimited No Bull plan for just $10 per month, after which the price rises to $50 per month, taxes included. The plan delivers unlimited...
UK Warns 2G Shutdown Could Leave Older Devices Offline by 2033
UK regulators have announced a phased shutdown of 2G mobile networks slated for 2029‑2033, following the earlier retirement of 3G services. Any device that only supports 2G will lose voice, SMS, and data connectivity unless upgraded to 4G or 5G....
MTN Invests in AI Network Start-Up Alongside Nvidia
MTN’s digital infrastructure arm has joined a $45 million Series‑A round for US‑based ORAN Development Company (ODC), alongside Nvidia, Cisco and other telecom giants. ODC’s AI‑RAN platform will embed AI processing into radio access networks, turning traditional cell towers into edge‑computing...
World IoT Day: Wireless Logic on Data Sovereignty, Reaching 1bn Connections and the Next Phase of IoT
World IoT Day highlights that global NB‑IoT and LTE‑M connections have topped one billion, marking a decade of collaborative network expansion. Cyril Deschanel of Wireless Logic warns that the focus is shifting from merely linking devices to managing them over...
FCC Approves Order to Accelerate High-Speed Network Rollouts
The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved a network‑modernization order that streamlines the retirement of copper telephone lines and accelerates the rollout of high‑speed fiber and wireless networks. The rule eliminates filing requirements, simplifies upgrade applications, and preempts state or local...
VectorWave Emerges From Stealth with Breakthrough Neuromorphic Analog Platform
VectorWave Corp launched a neuromorphic analog compute platform that processes raw RF signals directly in silicon, bypassing traditional digital conversion. The chip cuts inference latency from milliseconds to nanoseconds, enabling ultra‑fast, resilient communications in crowded wireless environments. The company secured...
Tech Issues Continue to Haunt 911 Systems
A Idaho Legislative Oversight report warns that the state’s 911 call‑centers and radio networks will reach end‑of‑life within two years, prompting a call for a unified statewide program. The analysis notes that 88% of U.S. emergency centers suffered a technology...
China Unicom Bets on AI Cloud Services to Break Telecoms Revenue Ceiling
China Unicom is accelerating AI deployment across consumer, enterprise, and home services, targeting 2026 as a launch point for new revenue streams beyond traditional voice and data. Its flagship AI Cloud Phone, built with Huawei, already has 18 million users and...
Supply‑Chain Cyber Threats Surge: FCC Router Ban, LiteLLM Hack, HackerOne Breach
The U.S. FCC moved to bar new foreign‑made routers, a malicious update to the popular LiteLLM Python package infected up to half a million downloads, and HackerOne disclosed a breach of 287 employees through benefits provider Navia. Together the events...
Supreme Court Narrows Contributory Infringement Test in Cox V. Sony Music
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a service provider is only contributorily liable for copyright infringement when it intends its service to be used for piracy, rejecting the long‑standing “knowledge plus material contribution” standard. The decision in Cox v....
Colt Secures Capacity on Juno Subsea Cable
Colt Technology Services has secured capacity on NTT’s Juno subsea cable, adding a new trans‑Pacific backbone that links Los Angeles to Tokyo. The 11,700‑km Juno system, operational since last year, expands Colt’s network to include ten subsea cables and connects...
Stale Data Keeps Telecoms Stuck at Level‑3 Autonomy
Most telecom operators are optimizing their networks with 15-minute-old data. Offline files. Batch transfers. Human review. And we wonder why autonomy is stuck at Level 3. At MWC, I sat down with Joe Constantine from @ericsson to unpack what it really takes to move from...
HTS Market Set to Reach $76B as Industry Enters Terabit Era
Novaspace’s latest HTS report projects global high‑throughput satellite demand to reach 218 Tbps and service revenues to climb to $76 billion by 2034, more than double current levels. The surge is fueled by rapid NGSO constellation growth, especially Starlink, which has reset...
ST Engineering iDirect and G&S SatCom Win Satellite Innovation Group Cooperation of the Year Award for Advancing Unified Network and...
ST Engineering iDirect and G&S SatCom have been honored with the Satellite Innovation Group Cooperation of the Year award for integrating G&S SatConnect® into iDirect’s next‑generation Intuition ground system. The combined platform unifies network operations, service management, and OSS/BSS through...
Megafon Deploys Private LTE Network for Nordgold in Sakha
Russian telecom operator Megafon has finished installing a private LTE network for gold‑miner Nordgold in the Republic of Sakha. The system spans roughly 100 km² in the Olyokminsk municipality and comprises seven permanent and two temporary base stations. Deployment aims to...
Priority Networks Keep Rural Responders Connected in Crises
In rural and edge-of-coverage areas, limited capacity makes every connection count. Priority network access can help emergency teams maintain command and visibility when conditions are at their most challenging. Solutions like @T_Priority are designed to support responders operating in those environments, helping...
AI Thrives on 5G, Edge, Secure Network Partnership
AI adoption isn’t just about models; it’s about infrastructure. Integrated 5G, edge computing, and secure network architecture are enabling distributed intelligence across manufacturing, logistics, and energy environments. New partnership announcement: https://t.co/b665Yqudzw @TMobileBusiness Partner
Cybersecurity Tops List of Infrastructure Deal Risks
Research by S‑RM shows cybersecurity has become the top reason digital and telecom infrastructure deals collapse, with 76 % of 150 global investors citing cyber concerns as the primary blocker. Over the past three years, 65 % of those investors experienced at...
Fiber Is a Market Power Weapon, Not a Luxury
Fiber is not “nice to have.” It is a market power weapon. Where telcos have fiber, they win. Everywhere else, they bleed. 🧵📉 #Telecom #Broadband
Amplex Internet Faces Widespread Outages, Service Disruption
"Amplex Internet... parts of its network are already suffering from network outages and a loss of network reliability - disrupting the ISP's service to a significant portion of its customer base." https://t.co/m7zDxyBJQe
Vodafone Ukraine Overhauls Business Tariff Line
Vodafone Ukraine introduced a revamped business tariff portfolio comprising nine plans priced between UAH 220 and UAH 1,200 (approximately $6‑$32 per month). Most tiers feature unlimited on‑net voice calls, while the premium offering adds unlimited data, a 40 GB EU roaming bundle, and...
Fiber Is the New Growth Engine—Own Your Castle
Fiber is not just broadband. Fiber is the new wireless growth engine. If you do not own a “fiber castle,” your net adds are on borrowed time. 🧵📡
Starlink Needs Far Fewer Satellites Than Expected
I agree this is the most significant statement, an acknowledgement of the reality that Starlink demand is not unlimited. 20K V3 BB sats is enough for 200M+ users worldwide, 1200 V2 DTC satellites may be sufficient for occasional use by...
Vodafone, Satellite Connect Europe Make Satellite Video Call in Ireland
Vodafone Ireland and Satellite Connect Europe, the joint venture with AST SpaceMobile, completed Ireland’s first mobile video call via satellite using a regular smartphone and the AST Bluebird satellite. The call originated from a dead‑zone on Clare Island, County Mayo,...
How to Escalate Comcast Business Outages Efficiently
🦇 SF @garrytan bat signal engaged Comcast Business is down again at your office? Step 1: Call their dedicated business line 1-800-391-3000. Step 2: Demand a ticket number. Step 3: Escalate to retention.
Wi‑Fi Community Alarmed by FCC's New Router Policy
Here’s why the Wi-Fi camp is freaking out about the FCC's new router policy @HettingClaus @iPolicy 🖇️https://t.co/qIvau5ScQx🖇️ https://t.co/KeYbWyiE5m
Orange Poland Starts New Smartphone Trade-In Offer
Orange Poland has launched a new smartphone trade‑in program available in its retail stores. The scheme accepts any handset that can power on, rewarding customers with a voucher starting at PLN 40 (about $10) toward a new device. For phones that...
RCS 4.0 Launches Native Video Calls and Rich Media
From Rich Text to Video: RCS Universal Profile 4.0 has arrived • Native support for video calls within the messaging app • Rich text and higher-quality media for more expressive RCS messaging • Video streaming and link optimisation in...
Comcast's DOCSIS 4.0 Deployment Now Covers 'Millions' Of Homes
Comcast announced that its DOCSIS 4.0 rollout now serves "millions" of homes, expanding far beyond the ten markets and roughly one‑million premises covered in 2024. The carrier has installed about 225,000 digital nodes and 300,000 full‑duplex amplifiers, many of which are...
Wi-Fi 7 Phase 2 Trials by WBA Validate Wi-Fi 7 MLO for Enterprise Wi-Fi Reliability, Bandwidth and Performance
The Wireless Broadband Alliance released Phase 2 field‑trial results showing that Wi‑Fi 7’s multi‑link operation (MLO) with enhanced multi‑link single‑radio (eMLSR) dramatically improves enterprise Wi‑Fi performance. Tests with AT&T, RUCKUS Networks and Intel recorded up to 116% uplink throughput gains and 66%...
OrbitsIQ Global and Wrocław Tech Validate E-SSA Waveform for Space-Based IoT
OrbitsIQ Global announced the validation of its Enhanced Spread Spectrum Aloha (E‑SSA) waveform, co‑developed with Wrocław Tech and backed by ESA. The new protocol lets up to 500 devices share a single 4 MHz channel, processing roughly 30,000 frames per second...
Kerlink Unveils M2 Wirnet iStation for Enhanced IoT and Edge Connectivity in Remote Footprints
Kerlink has launched the Wirnet iStation M2, a multi‑mode connectivity gateway that combines cellular, Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth and LoRa radios. The device is built in France and engineered for harsh, power‑constrained environments such as remote industrial sites. It targets core verticals including...
Chinese Hackers Caught Deep Within Telecom Backbone Infrastructure
Rapid7 disclosed that a China‑linked state‑sponsored threat actor has embedded kernel‑level implants and passive backdoors deep within global telecom backbone infrastructure. The campaign leverages the BPFdoor Linux backdoor, CrossC2 beacons and the TinyShell framework to achieve long‑term, stealthy persistence across...
Eurobites: Vodafone Claims Irish First with Satellite Video Call
Vodafone Ireland completed Ireland’s first mobile video call routed through an AST SpaceMobile satellite using a regular smartphone, showcasing a sovereign‑network alternative to Starlink. Meanwhile, KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners have tabled bids of €6‑8 bn (≈$6.9‑$9.2 bn) for Patrick Drahi’s XpFibre...
FXP30x and PC30x Series From Taoglas Combine Cellular, GNSS and Wi-Fi in Compact PCB Antennas
Taoglas introduced the FXP30x and PC30x series, a new family of embedded antennas that combine cellular, GNSS and Wi‑Fi connectivity in a single compact package. The FXP30x line uses a flexible polymer PCB with peel‑and‑stick mounting, while the PC30x line...