Today's Telecom Pulse
Australia's $5.25B spectrum fee sparks industry backlash
The Australian Communications and Media Authority announced a A$7.32 billion (≈US$5.25 billion) fee for renewing mobile spectrum licences held by the three major operators and NBN Co. Industry bodies AMTA and ATA denounced the charge as a "short‑sighted spectrum stealth tax" and warned it could force operators to curb investment.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Optimum raises $300M in preferred equity
Microsoft Expects to Commercialize MicroLED Datacenter Cables by Late 2027 — Expands Hollow Core Fiber Deployment, Promising 47% Faster Data...
Microsoft announced that its MicroLED‑based optical cable system, called MOSAIC, will be commercialized with partners by late 2027. MOSAIC replaces traditional lasers with inexpensive MicroLEDs and transmits data over hundreds of parallel low‑speed channels, cutting energy use by roughly 50 % and reducing failure rates dramatically. At the same time, the company is expanding its Hollow Core Fiber (HCF) network, which delivers up to 47 % faster transmission and about 33 % lower latency for inter‑datacenter links. The two technologies are designed to work together, offering a unified high‑performance optical fabric for Azure.
Optical Interconnects Will Dominate Over Copper for Scaling
It does seem copper will be an option in Feynman, BUT, I'd bet the mix shifts heavily in favor of the optical options in this timeline. A comment was made in a session I was in yesterday that once you...
Part I: Outcomes From the IEEE–ITU Sustainable Climate Symposium
The IEEE‑ITU Sustainable Climate Symposium in Geneva highlighted how artificial intelligence can make telecommunications networks more energy‑efficient and climate‑resilient. Participants from standards bodies, UN agencies, industry, and academia discussed AI‑driven optimization, circular‑economy models, and the need for robust governance frameworks....
O2 Speeds up Deployment with Pre-Assembled Mobile Mast
O2 has introduced a pre‑assembled mobile mast that shifts most of the complex antenna, radio and cabling work to a factory environment. The approach slashed on‑site installation time from two days to four hours and reduced cable connections from roughly...
Ettienne Brandt Named Astound CEO Amid Google Fiber Merger
Ettienne Brandt, a vet of both broadband and mobile, is the new CEO of Astound Broadband, which just struck a deal to combine with GFiber (@googlefiber). Brandt most recently led Frontier's commercial business unit. @Light_Reading https://t.co/QQkVv0H6y6
Giffgaff Adds 24 Month Contracts with No Price Rise in Minimum Term
Giffgaff has introduced 24‑month full‑fibre broadband contracts that lock in prices for two years, avoiding the typical £3‑£4 annual hikes seen across the sector. The plans start at £25 per month for 200 Mbps, £28 for 500 Mbps, and £32 for 900 Mbps,...
Press Release: National Airlines Selects Viasat IFC for A330s
Viasat Inc. announced that its in‑flight connectivity solution has been selected for National Airlines’ three new Airbus A330 aircraft. The airline equipped the jets with Viasat’s GM‑40 Ka‑band terminal, delivering high‑capacity Wi‑Fi capable of HD video streaming and AI‑driven applications...
WApo Urges Bipartisan Push to Dismantle the FCC
WaPo: "In a perfect world, liberals would take the same lessons from Carr’s attempted abuses, and a bipartisan coalition would vote to abolish the FCC." Brendan Carr, minister of truth https://t.co/gPDLo5KUFy
Z-Communications Announces New High Performance 24 GHz Phase Locked Oscillator
Z‑Communications introduced the FSG24000LX, a high‑performance 24 GHz phase‑locked oscillator housed in a rugged all‑metal enclosure. The unit delivers -104 dBc/Hz phase‑noise at a 10 kHz offset, 11.5 dBm output power from a 15 VDC supply, and features PSYNC and lock‑detect interfaces. It powers up...
Where’s the Growth?
The Census Building Permit Survey shows a pronounced regional split in new‑home construction, with South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Idaho and Delaware topping single‑family permits per 100,000 residents, and Washington, D.C., South Dakota and Colorado leading multifamily permits. North Carolina’s...
Ofcom Complaints Remain Steady – EE Tops Pay-TV Complaints League
Ofcom’s Q3 2025 report shows consumer complaints about broadband, landline, mobile and pay‑TV services remained broadly unchanged from the previous quarter. EE topped the pay‑TV complaint league while its broadband complaint level stayed flat. TalkTalk led landline grievances and saw an...
WMSA Europe Aims to Tackle Regulatory Pressure on Audio PMSE Spectrum
WMSA Europe has launched as an advocacy alliance to protect the audio Programme‑Making and Special‑Events (PMSE) spectrum, especially the UHF and 600 MHz bands, from growing regulatory pressure. The group unites wireless‑microphone users, RF coordinators and freelance professionals across France, Italy,...
Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitendra Singh, Chandra Shekhar Pemmasani to Attend ET's 5G Congress 2026
The Economic Times' ET Telecom is hosting the ninth 5G Congress 2026 and the fifth Telecom Awards on 20 March in New Delhi. Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitendra Singir, and Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani will headline the event, which will draw nearly 400 delegates from government, regulators and leading operators....
Tampnet Connectivity for First CO₂ Injection Platform Offshore Netherlands
European CCS milestone: Tampnet secured a contract with Porthos CO₂ Transport to provide communications for the first offshore CO₂ injection platform on the Dutch Continental Shelf. The project will equip the converted P18‑A platform with a redundant 25 Mbit/s fiber link,...
Ofcom 2026–2031 Fibre Strategy Boosts Investment, Expands Coverage and Enhances UK Broadband Competition
Ofcom has released a five‑year regulatory framework for 2026‑2031 to accelerate the UK’s full‑fibre rollout. The plan locks in wholesale market rules, extends price caps on lower‑speed services and guarantees fair access to Openreach’s ducts and poles. Annual fibre investment...
Public Consultation on the Draft BEREC Report on Virtual Worlds and Web 4.0
The European Body of Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has released a draft report on Virtual Worlds and Web 4.0 for public consultation, with submissions due by 20 April 2026. The document analyses connectivity upgrades, the shift to network‑as‑a‑service, and a range of...
Backbone Connectivity for Digital Global Gateways - Studies
The EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) has launched a call to fund the deployment or major upgrade of backbone networks, including submarine cables, terrestrial routes, and satellite links. Projects must connect at least two Member States, islands, outermost regions, or...
MANRS for Enterprise Customers
The MANRS initiative, aimed at securing Internet routing, has few participants in Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, leaving enterprises in those markets without verified ISP compliance. The author highlights the difficulty of locating MANRS‑certified providers and points to a new MANRS...
Amazon Knocks on DoT's Door to Get Satcom Nod Fast
Amazon’s Project Kuiper has written repeatedly to India’s Department of Telecommunications seeking an expedited satcom permit, as the company lags far behind its 3,200‑satellite launch schedule, having placed only about 200 LEO units to date. The firm hopes the clearance...
Telesat Corp (TSAT) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
AST SpaceMobile reported full‑year 2025 revenue of $70.9 million, hitting the top of its guidance, and disclosed a $1.2 billion minimum‑committed revenue backlog anchored by a $175 million prepayment from Saudi Arabia’s STC Group. The company raised over $3.5 billion, boosting cash to $3.9 billion,...
South Korea Urged to Review Biometric Mandate for Mobile Phone Numbers
South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission has asked the Ministry of Science and ICT to reconsider its plan to mandate facial‑recognition authentication for all new mobile phone numbers, set to launch on March 23. The watchdog recommends three fixes: a...
Optus Appoints New OSS Chief
Optus has named former Wipro partner Wajid Baryalai as head of its Operational Systems and Support (OSS) division, a move that underpins a newly created unit focused on network resilience. The appointment coincides with an accelerated plan to insource network‑management...
Fort Bragg Fiber Deployment Sees Delays, Higher Costs
Fort Bragg, California’s municipal fiber project has encountered significant setbacks after the city dismissed its original construction‑management partner, GHD. The budget has ballooned from an initial $14.7 million to $18.9 million, driven by added fiber‑flower‑pot enclosures and street‑restoration costs. Direct city oversight...
OpenROADM Touts Multi-Operator Support
At OFC 2026, the IOWN Global Forum and OpenROADM demoed a multi‑domain, multi‑operator photonic fabric built on the OpenROADM Multi‑Source Agreement. The showcase integrated ROADMs, transponders and switches from four vendors (1Finity, Ciena, NEC, Nokia) and was controlled by the open‑source...
Hyper Photonix Showcases 1.6T SiP Optical Transceivers at OFC 2026
Hyper Photonix unveiled a 1.6 Tbps silicon‑photonic (SiP) optical transceiver line built on a 200 G per lane architecture at OFC 2026, targeting AI‑driven data‑center traffic. Live demos at booth 449 highlighted the module’s high bandwidth, power efficiency, signal integrity and thermal robustness. The...
Converge to Deploy 1 Million Ports in 2026, Sets Capex at PHP 23 Billion
Converge ICT announced it will add nearly one million new ports to its network by 2026, targeting underserved regions in the Visayas and Mindanao. The rollout is backed by a PHP 23 billion capital expenditure plan, a 30% increase over the previous...
FCC, DOJ Defend USF to Fifth Circuit
The FCC and DOJ are defending the $8 billion‑per‑year Universal Service Fund (USF) before the Fifth Circuit, arguing the program complies with the Constitution. The challenge, filed by Consumers’ Research, targets the “additional” and “advanced” service provisions that allow subsidies for...
Farmer Credits Starlink, Not Biden, for Rural Internet
Farmer @Milbank's best moment came when he grudgingly admitted that @elonmusk and @Starlink delivered the Internet service he needed for his family farm in the wilds of Rappahannock County, Va. @washingtonpost editors changed the original headline twice before settling on...
AT&T Expands Guarantee to FWA Small Business Customers
AT&T has broadened its AT&T Guarantee program to include small‑business customers using its Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service. The new policy provides automatic bill credits for outages lasting 20 minutes or longer and promises same‑day or next‑day technical assistance. This...
Singapore Prepares for TSGs#112
Keysight Technologies is set to host the 3GPP TSG #112 plenary in Singapore from June 8‑12, 2026, marking the first time the standards body meets outside its traditional venues. The event will be held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention...
Internet Goes Down in Congo in Time for the Election
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported a nation‑scale outage in the Republic of Congo coinciding with the presidential election, echoing a similar three‑day blackout in 2021. The shutdown occurred despite the telecom regulator ARPCE’s recent directives urging service continuity and resilience....
U.S. Should Streamline Spectrum Allocation, Congressional Report Says
The U.S.-China Economic Security and Review Commission released a report urging Congress to direct the FCC and the NTIA to study ways to streamline spectrum allocation. It highlights China’s rapid 5G licensing—completed within months—versus the United States’ slower, auction‑driven process...
Nokia Lifts Lid on Tech Suite to Meet AI Demands
Nokia announced a new optical networking suite designed to handle the massive data traffic generated by AI workloads. The portfolio combines coherent optics, a compact multi‑line in‑life amplifier and full‑band transponders, promising up to 40‑times more services per footprint while...
Telefonica Germany Partners Automobile Association ADAC to Launch New Digital Benefit Programme
Telefonica Germany has entered a partnership with the German automobile association ADAC to embed its O2 and Blau mobile‑service portfolios into ADAC’s newly launched digital benefits platform. Existing O2 and Blau tariffs will be available to ADAC members, and Telefonica...
T-Mobile Poland Offers Full Range of Prepaid Card Purchase Functions Online
T‑Mobile Poland has moved its entire prepaid SIM purchasing workflow online. Customers can now activate eSIMs, select new telephone numbers, and use Mobile Number Portability via the website. The service also supports ordering physical SIM cards with free delivery. This...
A1 Slovenia Leads Survey as Most Frequently Recommended Mobile Operator for Seniors
A recent Aragon agency survey shows A1 Slovenia is the most frequently recommended mobile operator among Slovene users aged over 60. More than 80% of these senior customers actively use mobile data, a rate that exceeds the national average. Seniors...
Beeline Kyrgyzstan Launches Mobile Plan with Zero-Rated AI Apps
Beeline Kyrgyzstan has rolled out a new Ukmush AI tariff priced at KGS 500 per month. The plan offers 80 GB of mobile data, unlimited on‑net calls and SMS, 60 minutes of off‑network calls, and unlimited data sharing. It also zero‑rates traffic to...
Analyst Urges Patience as Verizon's Earnings Mask Future Growth
Read @jeffKAGAN Industry Analyst comment in this piece on @Verizon performance... Despite many analysts predicting Verizon’s future performance under Schulman’s leadership, industry analyst Jeff Kagan said in a press release that the company’s most recent earnings report does not reflect how...
Brendan Carr Hailed for Broadband Expansion and 5G Leadership
Washington Reporter Editors: "@BrendanCarrFCC record at the @FCC has been outstanding. He has been one of the administration’s most effective regulators, repealing unnecessary regulations, getting broadband to millions more households, and helping America win the 5G race against China."...
L3Harris Unveils P25 Device with 5G, Satellite D2D Functionality
L3Harris introduced the XL‑300P, a redesigned P25 handheld that adds a built‑in LTE‑5G modem and satellite direct‑to‑device (NTN) capability. The device can switch among P25, Wi‑Fi, commercial LTE bands—including Band 106—and T‑Mobile’s Starlink‑backed satellite service, with an AI‑driven selector that chooses...
AI-Powered T‑Mobile Towers Will Dynamically Route Traffic
Interesting mention of a @TMobile tower of the future which will have AI capability to route traffic and make other intelligent informed decision for better service https://t.co/1pA3hEkSZo
Satellite Show's Shortlist Overlooks Key Industry Leader Charlie Ergen
This shortlist for Satellite Executive of the Year makes me feel that SatShow no longer has its finger on the pulse of the most significant industry developments... (yes the SES-Intelsat merger is a big deal but shouldn't Charlie Ergen be...
Leaders Build Connectivity Edge with T‑Mobile SuperMobile
Visionary leaders don’t wait for perfect conditions, they create them. @RyanSerhant turns Yosemite’s remote ⛷️ trails into a closing powerhouse, proving T-Mobile’s SuperMobile innovation delivers the edge: adaptive performance, off-grid reach, network-embedded security. Connectivity as true leverage. 🚀 @TMobileBusiness Partner
ReconAnalytics Acquires Atom Insights to Link Devices and Networks
Most telecom analysts are flying blind because they ignore the intersection of hardware and connectivity. .@ReconAnalytics is ending that era with the acquisition of Atom Insights to bridge the gap between device SKUs and network performance. 🧵📊
Lynk Seeks Partnerships to Build World’s Cheapest Constellation
Lynk: "We want to build the most cost-effective constellation in the world. We need to build partnerships to compete against some of the bigger guys who seem to have endless money and ambition" https://t.co/HQZGajsIqU via Michelle Donegan
Municipal Networks Match or Outperform ISPs in Study
"We studied the performance of 14 of the largest municipal networks from December 2024 through December 2025, and compared their performance to each other and to their ISP competitors." via @suemarek https://t.co/gV07n0Ieat
Real Telecom AI Needs Auditable Ground Truth, Not Slides
Telecom “AI” is mostly PowerPoint. The winners will be the ones who own auditable ground truth from device to network to macro. Recon just made a move that changes the game. 🧵📊
T‑Mobile’s T‑Satellite Adds Starlink Support, Ready for AST SpaceMobile
"Operations on T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service powered by Starlink will be supported immediately, but it also is designed to work with AST SpaceMobile—the satellite D2D provider for AT&T and Verizon in the U.S." https://t.co/FBUFQLhMfg Noteworthy that enterprise devices have this
FCC Chair Threatens TV Licenses over “Fake News” Claims
For Trump’s FCC Chairman, Trolling Liberals Is the Point in His Threat to Pull Licenses of TV Networks That Air ‘Fake News’ About Iran War https://t.co/IKR86ZvW81 via @variety
Opening 7 GHz Band Aligns U.S. Spectrum Policy Globally
"Making spectrum available across the 7 GHz band for commercial wireless use would be a valuable opportunity to align U.S. spectrum policy with our partners and allies." via @CTIA https://t.co/c0rqotfnLr