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
My Broadband Upgrade
British Telecom’s push to retire copper lines forced a small‑business owner to migrate his broadband and landline to digital services. The ISP mishandled the number‑porting request, leaving the business without its primary phone for a week while the new fibre connection suffered intermittent packet loss. Installation changes moved the entry point, degrading Wi‑Fi, and the user resorted to running a dedicated Ethernet cable and a new gigabit switch to achieve 500 Mbps speeds. The experience prompted a reassessment of BT versus alternatives such as Virgin Business.
Custom Wi‑Fi Amplifier Enables Live Tournament Streaming
Cell reception is always bad at the volleyball tournaments and the coach couldn’t stream live videos to family that couldn’t make it. Built this thing - wireless AP to cellular built amplifiers inside the battery casing with Omni directional antennas and...
Personal Hotspot Likely Causing Dreamliner Wi‑Fi Glitch
On a @united @BoeingAirplanes Dreamliner. Could this be a misconfiguration? Or someone's personal hotspot? I'm guessing the latter. #wifi #travel https://t.co/jjuz1ruR7V
Telecom News: Kyivstar, Apple, Samsung, Vodafone Idea
Kyivstar reported a 26% rise in core profit for 2025, with EBITDA of about $648 million, driven by a surge in digital services after acquiring ride‑hailing platform Uklon. Digital revenue jumped 467% to $124 million, and monthly active users of its super‑app...
Pagers and Paper Maps Make a Comeback in Moscow as the Internet Goes Dark
Moscow and parts of St. Petersburg have experienced intermittent mobile internet blackouts, cutting off apps, rides, and even basic calls. The Kremlin says the restrictions are security‑driven and may involve testing a “whitelist” that only permits essential services. The outages have...
Starlink Dominates D2D; Terrestrial Networks Still Superior
Good to see the #cluelesscult finally acknowledging that my Feb 2023 predictions that 1) Starlink would dominate the D2D market and 2) D2D performance will never match terrestrial networks were both totally correct...
The $41 Billion Telecom Fraud Secret
Global telecom operators reported $41.82 billion in fraud losses, a rise from the previous year, while consumer losses from spoofed calls remain largely hidden. Spoofed caller ID enables large‑scale authorized push payment scams, accounting for up to half of voice‑channel attacks....
HFCL Bags USD 1.10 Billion OFC Contract with Global MNC
HFCL Ltd. has secured a long‑term supply agreement with a global multinational corporation to provide high‑fibre‑count optical fiber cables (OFC) worth approximately USD 1.10 billion through December 2030. The contract will deliver multi‑million fibre‑kilometre volumes each year, marking HFCL’s first multi‑year OFC deal...
Defining the Blueprint | Shifting Contours of Connectivity in an AI-Native 6G Era
The telecom industry is redefining 6G as an AI‑native, cloud‑native architecture rather than a simple upgrade of 5G. AI will be embedded in every control loop, turning networks into self‑optimizing platforms that can predict failures and allocate resources in real...
Moscow's Mobile Blackouts Revert Digital City to Stone Age
“This is pushing a thriving city that prided itself on its digital sophistication back into the Stone Age.” @NastyaStognei on Moscow’s mobile blackouts, which have shut down almost all traffic as Russia seeks to control the internet: https://t.co/n8DhjD4Z27
AAP's Raghav Chadha Reignites Demand for 30-Day Tariffs, Affordable Voice-Only Plan
AAP MP Raghav Chadha has called on Indian telecom operators to align prepaid recharge cycles with calendar months and to keep essential voice and SMS services active long after a pack expires. He also proposed an inexpensive incoming‑only plan for...
Ericsson Drives 6G Journey Toward an Intelligent Fabric at MWC 2026
Ericsson used Mobile World Congress 2026 to showcase its AI‑native 6G roadmap, positioning its silicon‑based radios and open‑source software as the backbone of an intelligent network fabric. The company announced collaborations with Intel, NVIDIA, Qualcomm and the Linux Foundation’s OCUDU...
IOH, Safaricom Partner on AI, Mobile Financial Services
Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) and Kenya's Safaricom have signed a partnership to co‑develop digital services, emphasizing artificial intelligence, mobile financial solutions, and network planning. The agreement leverages IOH’s push to embed AI across its telecom operations and Safaricom’s proven M‑Pay...
TRAI Moots Termination Charges to Tackle Spam
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has drafted rules to impose termination charges on commercial Application‑to‑Person (A2P) calls, aiming to curb bulk spam calls that masquerade as personal conversations. The proposal mirrors existing fees on commercial SMS and exempts...
Airtel Postpaid Plans 2026 Detailed: Full Price List, Data Benefits, Family SIM Options and OTT Offers
Bharti Airtel’s Infinity Postpaid portfolio in India now spans six tiers, priced from ₹449 to ₹1,749 monthly. Each plan bundles unlimited voice, 300‑420 GB of data, and a suite of digital services such as OTT subscriptions, 100 GB Google One storage, and...
Some BEAD Winners Seeing Tight Fiber Market
Rural broadband providers participating in the $42.45 billion BEAD program are encountering unexpected cancellations of orders for Build America, Buy America‑compliant fiber. Prices for BABA‑qualified cable have surged roughly 40 percent, straining project budgets and timelines. Manufacturers such as Corning cite...
AT&T Commits $250 Billion Through 2030 to Build Essential Infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence
AT&T announced a $250 billion capital spending plan through 2030 to expand its fiber and 5G networks, specifically targeting the bandwidth and latency needs of artificial‑intelligence workloads. The company aims to become the foundational network layer for the emerging AI economy,...
Trump Mobile Is Just One in the Crowd of Conservative Carriers
Trump Mobile joins a growing list of conservative‑leaning MVNOs that lease network capacity from the big carriers. The article compares its $26‑per‑month Freedom of Speech plan to rivals such as Liberty Mobile, Patriot Mobile, Radiant Mobile, PureTalk and Charity Mobile,...
AT&T CEO Pitches Trump Amid $23 Billion Antitrust Review
AT&T CEO John Stankey met with President Trump as the Justice Department conducts a $23 billion antitrust review of AT&T’s planned purchase of EchoStar’s spectrum licenses. The meeting was framed as a preview of AT&T’s broader $250 billion commitment to U.S. infrastructure...
Kyivstar Reports Strong Fourth-Quarter Results
Kyivstar Group posted a robust fourth‑quarter, delivering $321 million in revenue, a 28.4% year‑over‑year increase. Telecom services generated $271 million while digital offerings surged to $50 million, marking a 619% jump and accounting for 15.7% of total sales. EBITDA rose 21.7% to $172 million...
Greenlight Networks Accelerates Builds in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre
Greenlight Networks announced an accelerated fiber‑optic build‑out across Scranton, Wilkes‑Barre and surrounding Northeast Pennsylvania communities, backed by more than $24 million in new investment. The rollout follows its 2025 acquisition of Loop Internet, which added over 50 local employees and expanded...
Navy Bolsters Platforms with 5G, Eyes Ship-to-Ship Connections
The Navy’s 5G Integrated Product Team is accelerating the deployment of fifth‑generation wireless across every platform, from small unmanned aerial systems to aircraft carriers. It has successfully tested high‑speed, low‑latency ship‑to‑shore links and is now exploring ship‑to‑ship connectivity using the...
Orange Conducts 5G Standalone Trial for Emergency Services in Spain
Orange Spain and Madrid City Council completed Spain’s first real‑world 5G Standalone (SA) trial for emergency services, demonstrating network slicing that gives absolute priority to police, SAMUR and fire departments during a major public event. The trial, part of the...
Another AT&T FirstNet User Gets Shocking $6,200 Bill, at $2 per Megabyte
AT&T’s FirstNet service mistakenly charged two users roughly $6,200 each for about 3.1 GB of data at a $2‑per‑megabyte rate. The first case involved a Texas police officer in December 2024, the second a Florida active‑duty service member in March 2026, both receiving...
Hedge 299: 6G
In this episode the hosts trace the evolution of mobile networks from 2G through 5G and speculate on what 6G might look like, highlighting how each generation added digital encoding, higher frequencies, and new features like beamforming. They discuss the...
O’Rielly Wants Lutnick to Help Kill USDA’s Broadband Programs
Former FCC commissioner Michael O’Rielly wrote an op‑ed urging Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to block the renewal of three USDA broadband programs, arguing they duplicate the NTIA’s BEAD initiative and the FCC’s Universal Service Fund. O’Rielly points to $109 million in...
Inverto and SES Join Forces to Advance Next-Generation Q-Stream Solution Powered by DVB-NIP
Inverto and SES have announced a strategic partnership to fast‑track the development and commercial rollout of Q‑stream, an end‑to‑end content delivery platform built on the DVB‑NIP (Native IP) standard. The solution leverages satellite to distribute IP‑based video streams directly to...
Tech and Conservatives See Net Neutrality Repeal as Opportunity
"It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Tech writers like Ben Thompson (of Stratechery) argued that repealing net neutrality rules was actually the best way to achieve a free and open internet. Conservative writers welcomed the repeal, questioned the alarmist rhetoric,...
Telefonica Tech Sees Bright Future for Burriana
Telefonica Tech has equipped the Spanish town of Burriana with a smart street‑lighting network, linking more than 6,300 nodes using NB‑IoT. The project, commissioned by a Ferrovial Energia‑Endesa joint venture, utilizes Tellink‑manufactured sensors to provide remote monitoring, brightness control, and...
Cisco Edges Huawei in Indoor Wi-Fi 7 Revenue
Cisco took an early lead in indoor Wi‑Fi 7 access‑point revenue in 2025, edging out Huawei with nearly $2 billion in sales. The advantage stems from aggressive pricing and faster‑than‑expected enterprise adoption of the new standard. Dell’Oro forecasts double‑digit WLAN growth in...
Meta's Massive Undersea Cable Project Delayed in Persian Gulf as Iran Conflict Escalates
Meta's 2Africa undersea cable project has hit a new geopolitical snag as Alcatel Submarine Networks declared force majeure in the Persian Gulf, halting work on the Pearls extension. The ship Ile de Batz is now docked in Saudi Arabia, leaving...
MTN South Sudan Provides Free Mobile Data for Educare Platform
MTN South Sudan has signed an MOU with Educare to provide zero‑rated access to the Junub Academy e‑learning platform. The initiative allows students and teachers nationwide to use curriculum‑aligned digital content without incurring mobile data charges. By focusing on underserved...
AI Revolution Demands Evolved Internet Infrastructure
AI Will Change the Internet Forever — Why Networks Must Evolve for the AI Supercycle AI isn’t just increasing internet traffic — it’s fundamentally changing how data flows across networks, forcing infrastructure to evolve for a new AI-driven era. Read...
AI and Telecom Merge: NVIDIA‑Nokia Redefine Connectivity
The energy at MWC Barcelona is always incredible, but this year felt different. We are witnessing a fundamental shift in how networks are built and what they can do. One announcement that stood out to me was the deepening partnership...
Radost Adds App in Hungarian, Accepts Foreign IDs
O2 Slovakia’s MVNO Radost has expanded its mobile app to include Hungarian, joining Slovak and English. The update also lets users activate service using a range of foreign identity documents, covering countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, the...
Verizon Drops Wireless Revenue, Merges Into FIOS
Friday afternoon 8K. $VZ no longer reporting wireless service revenue. Rolling FIOS into that line. So weak. #SchulmanEffect https://t.co/XRxvo6vwvp
AT&T's New Plans Push Upgrades, Not Spark Price War
AT&T's new set of wireless plans aim to incentivize subs to upgrade to better tiers, but it's 'not the start of a new price war ... kind of the opposite,' notes New Street Research's David Barden. @Light_Reading https://t.co/JE0b6UgSKA
Ghana Consults on Plans for A2P Messaging Traffic Gateway
Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) has opened a public consultation on a new regulatory framework for international Application‑to‑Person (A2P) messaging traffic. The proposal aims to give regulators greater visibility into cross‑border messaging, curb revenue leakage from unauthorized routing, and combat...
FCC Hosts Dominican Telecom Regulator to Discuss Shared Priorities
Welcomed the chance to host the Chairman of the Dominican Republic’s telecom regulator—Chairman Guido Gomez Mazara—at the FCC today. Enjoyed discussing our shared tech and telecom priorities. https://t.co/p4M0W6VmxW
Europe's Telecom Cuts Future for Short‑term Savings
The European telecom model is a cautionary tale, not a blueprint. While critics claim US prices are too high, the data shows Europe has traded away its future for short-term savings. 📉🇪🇺 🧵
Beeline Uzbekistan Revenues up 12% in Q4
Beeline Uzbekistan, a Veon subsidiary, reported fourth‑quarter 2025 revenue of 1.002 trillion Uzbek soums, an 11.8 percent increase year‑on‑year. Growth was driven by disciplined pricing, higher handset sales and faster digital adoption. Telecom and infrastructure services rose 3 percent to 872.2 billion soums, helped...
Iran Conflict Stalls Meta's Massive Gulf Cable Project
Big....Work on Massive Meta Cable Project in Persian Gulf Stalled by Iran War - Bloomberg https://t.co/aPdgkZOTMo
Frequency Matters, Mar 13: T&M/C&C Issue, Industry News/Events
Microwave Journal’s Media Director Pat Hindle hosts the March "Frequency Matters" episode, centering on the Test and Measurement (T&M) sector. The show reviews key takeaways from DesignCon and Mobile World Congress Barcelona, offering listeners concise industry insights. Sponsored by RFMW,...
Sovereignty Redefines Telecom Opportunities and Strategic Dimensions
What does sovereignty mean for telecoms? I've had an initial attempt to categorise the main opportunities and dimensions Read the full article and get involved in the Unthinkable Lab on April 23rd, by myself & @ADCCo and assisted by the @TelecomTV...
Aaronia Presents High-End Solutions at Satellite in Washington
Aaronia AG will showcase its latest USB real‑time spectrum analyzers and full product line at Satellite 2026 in Washington, D.C. The company highlights the SPECTRAN™ V6 series, featuring sweep speeds over 3 THz/s and up to 450 MHz real‑time bandwidth, as well as the...
Kyivstar Revenues Grow 30% in Q4
Kyivstar, the Ukrainian arm of Veon, posted fourth‑quarter 2025 revenue of UAH 13.5 billion, a 30.1% year‑on‑year increase. EBITDA rose 23.1% to UAH 7.2 billion, delivering a 53.5% margin. The company’s multiplay subscriber base expanded 18% to 7.3 million, while its mobile customer count slipped...
Jio Business Broadband Max 801 Plan Brings 100 Mbps Speed and Work Tools for SMEs
Reliance Jio has launched the Business Broadband Max 801 plan, delivering 100 Mbps speeds and a 1,200 GB monthly data allowance for small offices. The offering bundles five JioAttendance licenses, a JioMeet video‑conference seat, and a JioGate subscription, positioning it as a...
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Eurobites: Vodafone Offers 'Speed Boost' Add-On to Data Guzzlers on the Go
Vodafone UK introduced a £3‑£10 "Speed Boost" add‑on that temporarily doubles mobile download speeds by prioritising data, a move seen as early monetisation of 5G network‑slicing capabilities. In France, FTTH roll‑out slowed sharply in Q4 2025, adding only 395,000 homes –...
AMP20184, Solid-State High-Power Amplifier
Exodus Advanced Communications introduced the AMP20184, a solid‑state high‑power amplifier delivering at least 500 W output and 57 dB gain. The unit uses a Class A/AB linear architecture with ultra‑wide bandwidth and advanced‑technology devices. It includes built‑in protection, extensive monitoring, an LCD display...
Google Abandons Pure‑fiber GFiber, Turns to DOCSIX Partner
D.C. Memo: Did @Google President Ruth Porat Decide the GFiber ‘Other Bet’ Wasn’t Working? GFiber opted to combine with a company in Astound Broadband that is 85% DOCSIS technology when plenty of pure-play fiber operators are still out there. What...