Today's Telecom Pulse
Deutsche Telekom mulls full takeover of T‑Mobile US
Deutsche Telekom, valued at roughly $167 billion, is weighing a full takeover of its U.S. subsidiary T‑Mobile. The proposal would create a new holding company that owns both the German parent and T‑Mobile US, where Deutsche Telekom already holds a 52 percent stake. The plan remains in early talks and would need approvals from the FCC and German regulators.
Also developing:
Webinar: Perspectives on the Digital Networks Act
PolicyTracker will host a 90‑minute webinar on 27 May 2026 to examine the EU’s proposed Digital Networks Act (DNA). The DNA seeks to revamp spectrum governance by enhancing EU‑level coordination, revisiting assignment models, and rebalancing authority between the European Commission and member states. Speakers include Professor Martin Cave, Philippe Lefebvre, and Professor Gérard Pogorel, who will discuss licensing, cross‑border coordination, and investment incentives for terrestrial and satellite services. The session targets regulators, telecom strategists, and satellite operators looking to anticipate the act’s impact.
Amazon's $11.57 B Globalstar Deal Escalates Battle with Musk's Expanding Starlink Constellation
Amazon announced an $11.57 billion purchase of Globalstar, aiming to build a 3,200‑satellite LEO network by 2029 and directly challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink, which now fields about 10,000 satellites and has filed to launch up to a million AI data‑center satellites....
Vodafone Touts Commercial 5G Slicing for Enterprises
Vodafone Business has rolled out a commercial 5G+ Local Slicing service that delivers a dedicated slice of its standalone 5G network to enterprise customers across areas up to 5 km². The offering promises guaranteed mobile performance for high‑density venues such as...
Mercy Ships Selects Wilson Connectivity to Enable Seamless Cellular Connectivity
Wilson Connectivity has partnered with Mercy Ships to outfit the Africa Mercy II hospital ship with its Zinwave wideband distributed antenna system (DAS). The DAS delivers native cellular, private mobile radio and private 5G connectivity without satellite‑based fees or logins, automatically linking to...
Zen Internet Partners with Eero to Enhance Business Connectivity Offering
Zen Internet has teamed up with eero, an Amazon‑owned mesh Wi‑Fi provider, to bundle eero Business across its full‑fibre broadband portfolio. The move targets UK small and medium‑sized enterprises that struggle with indoor Wi‑Fi coverage despite having fiber connections. Zen’s...
Esports Specialist, GSMA Target SA 5G Gaming Opportunity
Veloce Media Group and GSMA Fusion released a network‑requirements guide showing how standalone (SA) 5G can power low‑latency esports, cloud gaming, and live creator streaming. A demo at MWC Doha 2025 used SA 5G for racing simulators, proving events can...
BSNL and Airtel Top nPerf's India Broadband Rankings
India’s state‑run BSNL has overtaken Reliance Jio and Airtel to become the top fixed‑line broadband provider in nPerf’s FY 2026 rankings, scoring 89,174 nPoints. The leap follows a 21% boost in download speed to 78.53 Mbps and a surge in FTTH performance to...
The Best Small Business VoIP Providers of 2026: Expert Tested and Reviewed
The 2026 guide ranks Grasshopper as the most affordable small‑business VoIP, launching at $14 per month with core calling, voicemail transcription and mobile apps. Zoom Phone follows for teams already using Zoom, offering seamless video‑call escalation at $10‑$15 per user. Enterprise‑focused options...
Norway’s State Telecoms Firm Accused of Helping Myanmar Regime Seize Activists
A Norwegian state‑owned telecom, Telenor, faces a class‑action lawsuit in Norway alleging it supplied the Myanmar military with personal data on more than 1,200 activists, facilitating arrests and alleged torture. The suit, filed by the Justice and Accountability Initiative and...
Verizon Scores FWA, Private 5G Deal for FIFA World Cup
Verizon has signed a multi‑year deal with FIFA to supply 5G, fiber, fixed wireless access and broadcast services for the 2026 World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The operator is adding extra 5G spectrum and deploying under‑seat...
NASA’s TDRSS Problem: Why the Agency Is Betting on Commercial Providers to Keep Hubble and the ISS Online
NASA’s decades‑old Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) is aging, and its remaining satellites could fail by the end of the 2020s, jeopardizing telemetry for the Hubble Space Telescope and crew safety on the International Space Station. To avoid...
Battle Lines Drawn over Christchurch's $421M Fiber Network
Christchurch City Council is reviewing a potential sale of its municipal broadband arm, Enable Network, valued at NZ$714 million (about US$421 million). The network reaches more than 200,000 homes and generated NZ$66 million ($38.9 million) in revenue in the first half of the year....
Telecom News: Vodafone Idea, Telecom Italia, Fastweb
Vodafone Idea announced a ₹4,500 crore (≈$540 million) capital plan for Tamil Nadu, focusing on 5G rollout, network densification and new sites. Telecom Italia is reviewing a €10.8 billion (≈$11.6 billion) takeover proposal aimed at strengthening its balance sheet and streamlining infrastructure spending. The Italian...
Telecom News: Nokia, Orange, Huawei, MTN Nigeria
Nokia and Orange have teamed up to embed AI into Radio Access Networks, using Nokia's anyRAN 5G software and NVIDIA AI hardware to improve scheduling, beamforming and power use while laying groundwork for 6G. Algeria is deepening its partnership with...
Telecom News: TRAI, COAI, Telecom Namibia, CRAN
Indian telecom operators and the Cellular Operators Association of India have urged TRAI to make property owners, not service providers, bear the cost of in‑building digital connectivity infrastructure. They argue landlords benefit from higher rents and tenant retention, especially in...
Telecom News: DoT, SEBI, SK Telecom, Orange, ZEBOX
India’s Department of Telecommunications has teamed up with SEBI to create a real‑time data‑sharing platform that flags telecom‑linked investment scams, marking a shift toward proactive fraud prevention. SK Telecom announced a long‑term AI partnership with Ericsson to automate 5G radio...
Telecom News: Ceragon Networks, EdgeBeam Wireless, Soracom, AT&T
Ceragon Networks announced $10 million in private network contracts spanning utilities, mining, defense and public‑sector customers, with about $7.4 million expected as near‑term revenue by 2026. EdgeBeam Wireless partnered with Soracom to launch a hybrid connectivity platform that blends 4G/5G cellular with...
Fibre: The Backbone of South Africa’s Digital Health Ecosystem
Mweb’s survey of over 40,000 digitally active South Africans shows that the internet, especially fibre, is now central to health‑seeking behaviour. Seventy‑three percent of respondents research symptoms online, while roughly half of those using the web for medical queries have...
Viasat, Vueling Mark Milestone with One Million Free Inflight Wi-Fi Sessions Across A320 Fleet
Viasat Inc. announced that its partnership with Spanish low‑cost carrier Vueling has generated more than one million free inflight Wi‑Fi sessions across the airline’s A320 fleet. The service, launched in October 2025, is now available on over 80 aircraft and...
FTTH Conference 2026 Panel and Global Alliance Summit Accelerate Fiber Rollout
Stephan Rettenberger will speak at a FTTH Conference 2026 panel on fiber innovations for scalable data centers, while the FTTH Council launches its Global Alliance Summit to coordinate international FTTH deployment. Both events aim to remove bottlenecks and speed up...
Cintegral Deploys Taara Lightbridge for 20 Gbps Real‑Time Media Production
Cintegral has integrated Taara’s Lightbridge optical wireless connectivity into its ST 2110 Fiber over‑Air platform, delivering up to 20 Gbps bi‑directional links over 20 km. The move lets directors and crews collaborate in real time on remote shoots where traditional cabling is...
Cisco Goes to the Races with New Churchill Downs Multiyear Partnership
Cisco Systems announced a multiyear partnership with Churchill Downs to modernize network infrastructure across its racing venues and casinos, beginning in late 2026. The deal will replace more than 7,000 switches and create a unified routing fabric for 12 regional...
Equinix Launches Fabric Intelligence to Automate Network Ops for AI Workloads
Equinix unveiled Fabric Intelligence, an AI-powered control layer that automates network design, deployment and management across multi‑cloud and edge environments. The move targets the growing bottleneck where manual, ticket‑driven network operations struggle to keep pace with dynamic AI workloads.
DoT, SEBI Sign Pact to Curb Misuse of Telecom Resources in Financial Frauds
India’s Department of Telecommunications and the Securities and Exchange Board of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly combat the misuse of telecom resources in securities‑market frauds. The pact creates a structured data‑sharing framework that will feed the...
Cloud‑Native Telecom Runs Live, Yet Still Needs Human Oversight
Most “autonomous networks” still rely on manual override. That’s the reality. At #MWC26, @ribboncomm showed what execution actually looks like, with @awscloud, cloud-native is already live in telecom environments. Not a roadmap. Not a demo. Now the real question: who...
5G Drives Enterprise Transformation, Says Cyient VP
In this episode of Conversations With Dez. wer'e talking with Aashu Virmani, Vice President & Client Partner of Communications at Cyient, exploration of the impact of 5G on enterprise transformation.. https://t.co/CKThAvWEpM
All‑Bands‑5G‑A Standard Gains Momentum as AI Traffic Set to Triple by 2030
Telecom operators worldwide are moving to Huawei's All‑Bands‑5G‑A architecture to cope with AI‑driven traffic that could triple by 2030. The shift expands low, mid and high‑frequency spectrum use, promises energy‑efficient performance and opens fresh monetisation paths beyond basic connectivity.
TGT Technology Group Shines at Japan IT Week Spring 2026, Empowering Japanese Enterprises with Global Smart Connectivity Through vSIM and...
TGT Technology Group used Japan IT Week Spring 2026 to launch its AI‑powered vSIM/eSIM portfolio for Japanese enterprises, highlighting card‑less global connectivity across devices such as MiFi, CPE, and in‑vehicle units. The suite, built on the company’s proprietary cloud communications...
Customer Service Key to Counter Pain Points
Broadband operators are turning to artificial intelligence to overhaul customer service amid mounting operational pressures such as supply‑chain disruptions, labor shortages, and the rollout of the BEAD program. Fidium’s CEO Gaurav Juneja says AI will power proactive network maintenance and replace...
Manhattan Bridge Capital Inc (LOAN) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Ciena Corp reported a record Q1 2026 revenue of $1.43 billion, up 33% year‑over‑year, driven by explosive demand from service providers, hyperscalers and neoscalers. Adjusted gross margin rose to 44.7% and adjusted EPS more than doubled to $1.35, while the order...
WBA Guidelines Target Rogue Access Points and Credential Theft
The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) released a Wi‑Fi Security Guidelines framework to standardize protection across public, enterprise, IoT, and roaming networks. The document mandates mutual certificate‑based authentication, WPA3‑Enterprise with Protected Management Frames, and encrypted RADIUS traffic to thwart rogue access...
Superloop Puts Functional Separation Bid to ACCC
Superloop has applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for approval of a joint functional separation undertaking following its $165 million (≈ $109 million USD) acquisition of Lynham Networks. The proposal would split Lynham into a wholesale‑only network provider while keeping...
NASA Seeks Proposals for Commercial TDRSS Replacement
NASA issued a draft solicitation on April 10 for Project NEXUS, a commercial Ka‑band data‑relay service intended to replace the aging Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The agency cites a continuity risk for legacy assets such as the Hubble Space...
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly Wants to See Nokia Invest More in Canada
Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly urged Nokia to deepen its Canadian footprint during a fireside chat with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb at Nokia’s Ottawa site. She highlighted the need for more investment to help Canada meet its NATO‑aligned defence target...
Lumen Technologies' High-Stakes Fiber Bet Nearly Bankrupted It. Now, It's Powering Its AI Future
Lumen Technologies, after narrowly avoiding bankruptcy, has slashed debt and sold its consumer business, now focusing on AI networking and cloud services built on its extensive fiber infrastructure. A new AWS Interconnect partnership sparked a >10% share rally, highlighting the...
Senate Committee Recommends Harsher Penalties for Copper Theft
The Senate transport and communications committee is urging the federal government to amend the Criminal Code with harsher penalties for copper theft, aligning with telecom industry demands. The committee’s report, Stolen Signal, also calls for a national metal‑theft task force...
American Tower Delivers 5G Connectivity at Pittsburgh International Airport
American Tower has completed a neutral‑host 5G Distributed Antenna System at Pittsburgh International Airport, covering the newly opened terminal and existing concourses. The deployment was selected through a competitive RFP and was built while the terminal was still under construction,...
Amazon Satellite Deal Takes the Battle of the Billionaires Into Orbit
Amazon secured a multi‑year, roughly $1.5 billion launch contract with SpaceX to deploy its Project Kuiper broadband satellites, marking a decisive step toward commercial service. The agreement covers up to 1,000 launches over the next decade, enabling Kuiper’s planned constellation of...
What Can Space Lasers Do for Business Broadband?
NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) achieved a 1.2 Gbps laser link from the International Space Station, showcasing speeds ten times faster than typical broadband. The same laser technology later enabled the Artemis II mission to transmit 4K video at 260 Mbps from...
United's Starlink Shift Leaves Flights Wi‑Fi Dead
A bunch of anecdotes making me think that as @united moves the fleet over to Starlink their ground station partner has cut them off. I know of 5 people on 5 EWR-SFO flights who haven't had wifi in the last...
MCP Unifies Siloed Network AI Systems, Not New
Slightly late to the game, @7signal is talking about MCP Makes the point that multiple silo’d AI systems for networks / WiFi / IT helpdesk can use it to work better together Speaker wrongly claims it was created “in the...
Choosing WiFi and Small Cell Placement in Complex Airport Ceilings
Good question from Oberon Wireless: lots of airports and other locations have cool architectural features for ceilings So where do you put WiFi APs and small cells? https://t.co/7bacLm54Ui
Mesh/Tree Industrial WiFi Challenges Private 5G
Interesting mesh/tree industrial WiFi solution from @PicoCELA Indirectly competes with private 5G, I think https://t.co/5PlFbmucrm
Carrier Launches Voice‑cloning AI for Autonomous Calls
"REALLY, the wireless carrier that operates on T-Mobile's network, today announced a first-of-its-kind technology that allows subscribers to clone their voices and have their phone make and answer calls and take autonomous action on their behalf" https://t.co/FAF7lQNVQx ...really
AI and Sovereign WiFi Take Center Stage at WGC
My write-up of the first main day of @wifinowevents #WGC #wifi8 AI for WiFi WiFi for AI #Sovereign #WiFi https://t.co/nTBSVUyCUN
China Trials Deep-Sea Submarine Cable Cutter at 3,500 M
China tests submarine cable cutter at 3,500-metre depth Maybe "salvage" and "maintenance" vice "cutter", the cutting is not the primarily capability.... https://t.co/i2Wo4yNkyq
Nokia, Orange Team up for AI‑RAN, 6G‑ready Platform
Nokia and Orange to work together on AI‑RAN including: -GPU-based radio processor -NVIDIA AI infrastructure -the upper 6 GHz band -6G-ready platform https://t.co/ELP6q2vGh8
Starlink Drives 75%‑80% of SpaceX’s $1.75T Value
Here's what most people miss about SpaceX: 75–80% of its value isn't rockets. It's Starlink. The satellite internet business that nobody believed in is now the backbone of a $1.75 trillion company.
Cisco CTO Highlights Blurry Line Between Wi‑Fi and Mobile
Day 2 at @wifinowevents Congress @Cisco Wireless CTO Matt McPherson up now with an update on wireless enterprise trends I’m curious whether the survey distinguished wireless/WiFi vs mobile - it’s an area with lots of semantic blurriness https://t.co/ZwtqbCYvGB
Huge 5G Spend, Zero Loyalty: Network Wars Falter
.@Verizon and @ATT spent $150 billion on 5G network upgrades and it bought them zero customer loyalty. The era of competing on network seems to struggle to say it politely. 📉📵