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
Cisco IOS/XR OSPFv2 Not-So-Passive Interfaces
Cisco IOS/XR 25.2.1 violates the OSPF passive‑interface contract by still emitting OSPFv2 Hello packets. The router sends two hellos on a supposedly passive link, then stops, leaving the neighbor in the Init state and causing netlab integration tests to fail. The behavior stems from IOS/XR’s candidate‑configuration model, where OSPF reacts before the commit fully takes effect. A quick workaround is to clear the OSPF neighbor on the peer device, forcing a fresh adjacency that respects the passive setting.
Oman’s TRA Calls for Investment in Digital Services for Future Growth
Oman’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority urged private operators to broaden revenue beyond voice and data by investing in digital services such as IoT, cloud, and automation. The briefing highlighted a 358% jump in IoT subscriptions to 1.63 million and a rise in...
Singapore Warns That Vulnerabilities Span the Entire Space Value Chain
Singapore has launched its National Space Agency and warned that cyber‑vulnerabilities permeate every stage of the space value chain, from satellites to ground networks. The February 2022 KA‑SAT attack, which knocked out communications and energy services across Europe, underscored the systemic...
Scientists Develop the World’s Tiniest Wireless Brain Implant
Scientists at Cornell University have created a wireless brain implant so small it can sit on a grain of salt, yet still record and transmit neural activity. The device uses light‑based optics for power and data, eliminating bulky wires and...
Fidium Announces New Speed Tiers, Wi-Fi 7 Offerings
Fidium announced it will expand its fiber‑to‑the‑premise network with new symmetric speed tiers up to 8 Gbps, bundled with next‑generation Wi‑Fi 7 routers. The rollout begins in April 2026 across select neighborhoods in Maine, New Hampshire, Texas and California. The company says the...
Texas Broadband Power Players Will Headline at Connected America
Connected America, the premier broadband and digital infrastructure summit, will take place April 14‑15 at the Irving Convention Center, featuring a slate of Texas leaders from state agencies, municipalities, and private fiber providers. Bryan Clayton, director of the Texas Broadband...
Taara Lightbridge Pro: An Ultra Reliable Wireless Optical Communications System for 5G Mobile Backhaul
Taara, a Google X spin‑out, unveiled Lightbridge Pro – a carrier‑grade free‑space optical (FSO) system that promises 99.999% uptime for 5G mobile backhaul. The solution delivers up to 20 Gbps full‑duplex capacity and automatically switches to fiber or RF backups when...
All West Fiber Makes Progress with Fiber Upgrade in Evanston, Utah
All West Fiber announced the completion of Phase 1 of its fiber‑to‑the‑home upgrade in Evanston, Utah, delivering up to 8 Gbps service to residents and businesses. The rollout is part of a three‑phase project, with Phases 2 and 3 already under construction to extend...
Our Community Network Map Now Shows Tribal Networks Across the United States
The Institute for Local Self‑Reliance unveiled an upgraded Community Network Map that now includes Tribal broadband providers. The interactive tool identifies 82 active Tribal Internet Service Providers across the United States, displaying population size, business model, network links, and whether...
Connecting Africa Podcast: S4 Ep. 3 – What You Need to Know to Build an MVNO
The Connecting Africa Podcast’s fourth‑season episode features Calvin Collett, founder and CEO of Melon Mobile, who details the gritty reality of launching a digital‑first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in South Africa. He explains how building customer‑centricity into the company...
InfraVia, Liberty Global and Telefónica Agree £2 Billion Deal for Netomnia
InfraVia, Liberty Global and Telefónica’s joint venture nexfibre has agreed to acquire Netomnia, the parent of YouFibre and brsk, in a £2 billion transaction. The deal consolidates a significant portion of the UK’s full‑fibre retail market under nexfibre’s control. It brings...
The FCC 2024 Broadband Report
The FCC released its Internet Access Services report for December 31, 2024, intended to update Congress on broadband availability. The analysis highlights persistent flaws: inconsistent location definitions, reliance on ISP‑self‑reported marketing speeds, and omission of significant Fixed Wireless Access customers. Moreover, the...
Ericsson’s AI Network Optimisation Platform Live
Ericsson has launched Agentic rApp as a Service, an AI‑powered network optimisation platform available through AWS Marketplace. The solution leverages agentic AI and a natural‑language interface to reason about network conditions and execute closed‑loop optimisations via the O‑RAN R1 interface,...
EVPN IP-VRFs on Cisco IOS/XE: Configuration Notes
The author explains how to get EVPN IP‑VRFs with transit VXLAN working on Cisco IOS/XE, emphasizing the need to configure an explicit VLAN on switch images or a bridge‑domain on router images for the transit VNI. He outlines the required...
ASA Rules on Virgin Media Advert Following BT Complaint
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled on Virgin Media’s September 2024 TV spot that claimed the company was “Awarded Best Broadband Experience.” While the ASA concluded the claim was not misleading about technology, it found the advert failed to provide verifiable...
Dave Farber
Dave Farber, a foundational figure in the creation of the Internet, has passed away. He helped transform the early research network into today’s global communications backbone and designed the Irvine Ring, a landmark local‑area‑network architecture. Farber was also celebrated for...
Starlink Expands Plan Change Flexibility, Updates Privacy Policy, & Adds 24/7 Phone Support For Connection Issues
Starlink now lets customers switch service plans either instantly or at the next billing cycle, with upgrades prorated and downgrades forfeiting remaining value. The company also revised its privacy policy to permit the use of account and usage data for...
Revamped Opportunity Zone Financing
Opportunity Zone financing is being overhauled under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, creating OZ 2.0 effective Jan 1, 2027. The new rules make the program permanent, introduce a rolling five‑year deferral, a 10% basis step‑up after five years, and a 10‑year...
Using AI to Slash 5G Emissions and Hit ESG Goals
A new study by the University of Surrey and Tsinghua University shows AI‑driven sleep modes, intelligent hardware, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces can dramatically reduce 5G network emissions. The research demonstrates that granular sleep states and “cluster zooming” in cell‑free massive...
How Global Digital Cooperation Entered Its Implementation Phase
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the WSIS+20 outcome document in December 2025, cementing a ten‑year architecture for global digital governance aligned with the 2030 Sustainable Digital Goals. Coupled with the Global Digital Compact adopted at the 2024 Summit of...
Podcast: Decoding the Commission’s Digital Networks Act
The European Commission has released a draft Digital Networks Act, aiming to replace fragmented national telecom rules with a unified market framework. The legislation targets spectrum harmonisation and introduces perpetual licences to reduce regulatory uncertainty. By standardising rules, the EU...
This Week: T-Mobile - AI, Live Translation, and Key CMD Takeaways
T‑Mobile’s latest Capital Markets Day highlighted a pivot toward experience‑driven retail stores and a tighter integration of fiber and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) to accelerate network convergence. The carrier unveiled a live AI‑powered translation feature that can operate in real...
Du & Datawave SING Subsea Cable Enhances UAE Hub
du and Datawave Networks have partnered to land the Singapore‑India‑Gulf (SING) subsea fibre‑optic cable at du’s Kalba landing station in the UAE. The system will connect six points across the Gulf, India, Malaysia and Singapore, delivering high‑capacity, low‑latency East‑West bandwidth....
Hedge 295: Specialization
Hedge 295: Specialization is a round‑table podcast where Eyvonne, Tom and Russ debate whether network engineers should double‑down on a single technology, vendor or solution or cultivate a broader skill set. The hosts outline the career benefits of deep expertise—higher salaries,...
Financial Limitations on Growth
Rural ISPs repeatedly cite financing caps as the primary barrier to expanding broadband, not a lack of willingness. Lenders impose strict borrowing limits based on cash flow, debt ratios, and broader market conditions, which many small providers cannot exceed. Grant...
Worth Reading 021326
The APNIC blog underscores how network failures during natural disasters cripple emergency response and community safety, prompting calls for more resilient architecture. In parallel, nuclear power is highlighted as a cost‑effective, reliable alternative to volatile renewable sources amid rising electricity...
Private 5G Networks: Solving the Space and Power Problem
Samsung introduced a ‘Network in a Server’ (NIS) solution that consolidates private 5G core, RAN, transport and AI functions onto a single COTS server. By virtualising these network elements on an AMD EPYC 8000 platform with GPU support, the architecture...
Impact of AI on Transport | TG Explains AI
TeleGeography’s podcast with Luis Colasante examines the emerging bottlenecks in AI infrastructure. He explains that AI‑driven data centers consume two to three times more power than traditional cloud facilities, positioning energy availability as the chief constraint on digital growth. The discussion...
How Telenor Keeps Svalbard Connected at the Edge of the World
Telenor remains the sole mobile operator in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, delivering voice, SMS and data services via a fiber‑backed 4G LTE network that covers the main settlements. The region’s broadband is anchored by the Svalbard Undersea Cable System, which links...
On Misusing Transparent DNS Forwarders For Amplification Attacks
Researchers have identified transparent DNS forwarders as a potent, overlooked vector for reflective amplification attacks. Unlike traditional open resolvers, these forwarders relay queries without rewriting source IPs, allowing attackers to exploit shielded recursive resolvers and bypass rate‑limiting controls. Weekly Internet‑wide...
Insty Connect Launches The New Insty Drum and Mini Drum Antennas, A Starlink Mini Compatible Mount, And A Hot-Standby Cellular...
Insty Connect has unveiled two new omnidirectional rooftop antennas—the high‑performance Drum and the compact Mini Drum—alongside a versatile X Mount that also fits a Starlink Mini. The company introduced a Hot‑Standby cellular plan that costs $10 per month plus $4...
New GSMA Report Shows Low-Band Spectrum Is Required to Tackle the Rural Connectivity Gap and Help Unlock Rural Economic Growth
The GSMA’s new report finds that allocating additional sub‑1 GHz spectrum is essential for closing the rural digital divide. Adding just 50 MHz of low‑band spectrum can lift rural 4G coverage by 7 percentage points and 5G coverage by 11 percentage points, while also...
6 GHz Benchmark Updated for 2026
Two years after the WRC‑23 decision to approve three IMT footnotes in the 6 GHz band, the updated 2026 benchmark shows 22 nations moving toward licensed use of the upper 6 GHz spectrum. Asia leads with 12 countries, including China, actively consulting...
Peering Market at a Glance: Trends, Transformations, and the Regional Dynamics of Internet Interconnection
The latest NAMEX paper argues that the peering market isn’t shrinking, but reshaping. While some IXPs show flat membership, overall capacity keeps rising as traffic per port grows and services diversify. Regional analysis reveals mature markets like the UK focusing...
Twelve Papers Accepted Across ICASSP and ICC Highlight Momentum in Wireless Research
The episode highlights twelve papers from the University of Ulu’s Center for Wireless Communications accepted at IEEE’s ICASSP and ICC conferences, showcasing the convergence of integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) with learning-driven methods. Guests Nan Nguyen and Marku Yunti explain...
The Current State of RDAP
The IETF‑ratified Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) has entered a rapid growth phase after the mandatory whois sunset on 28 January 2025. Who‑is queries fell 60 % while RDAP queries surged from 7 billion to 65 billion per month, overtaking whois by June 2025. Adoption now...
Lyca Mobile Pitches 40GB Plan For $18/Month Among Other Offers
Lyca Mobile announced two aggressive prepaid promos for February, highlighted by a 40 GB high‑speed plan priced at $18 per month for nine months. The $18 plan offers unlimited talk and text, 15 GB hotspot, international calling to 100 countries (first 10...