UK Reaches 90% Gigabit Broadband Coverage as Full Fibre Rollouts Continue
The UK has reached 90.04% gigabit broadband coverage as of 25 February 2026, up from 85.20% in October 2024. England now sits at 90.58% while Northern Ireland leads with 97.15%. Remote council areas such as Na h‑Eileanan an Iar and the Shetland Islands remain well below the national average, highlighting uneven progress. The government’s 99% gigabit target for 2032 remains ambitious as rollout growth begins to flatten on an S‑curve.
Lab: More Complex EVPN/VXLAN Bridging Scenario
The latest EVPN/VXLAN lab adds a more complex bridging scenario where several EVPN MAC‑VRFs are each mapped to separate VLAN segments on individual PE devices. The topology includes three routers interconnected via an IPv4 underlay running OSPF and iBGP, and...
Telenor Amp Makes Investment in US-Based AI Player Telgea
Telenor Amp is committing $3 million to US‑based AI startup Telgea, part of a $5 million funding round that also includes Node, Antler VC and Runway. Telgea’s platform uses eSIM technology and AI automation to consolidate employee mobile subscriptions across borders, offering...
M5Stack Unit PoE-P4 Pairs RISC-V ESP32-P4 and 802.3at PoE in 64mm Module
M5Stack unveiled the Unit PoE‑P4, a 64 × 24 mm module that combines Espressif’s ESP32‑P4 RISC‑V SoC with IEEE 802.3at Power over Ethernet. The board packs 16 MB Flash, 32 MB PSRAM, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet PHY, dual MIPI DSI/CSI interfaces, and dual USB‑C ports, delivering up...
How Telekom CoMind Is Redefining AI-Powered Voice and Chat Bots for Enterprise
Deutsche Telekom unveiled CoMind, a modular conversational AI platform that delivers voice and chat bots acting as digital colleagues for enterprises. The solution combines Retrieval‑Augmented Generation, multilingual support and seamless integration with legacy and cloud systems, while adhering to strict...
ISAC Innovation | Ericsson Demos Drone Detection PoC at Texas
Ericsson successfully demonstrated a live proof‑of‑concept for its Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) technology at its Plano, Texas headquarters, using massive‑MIMO radios to detect and track drones in real time. The trial showed that existing 5G infrastructure can be repurposed...
SES and Africa Mobile Networks Extend DRC Coverage to 27% with 1,100 Rural Base Stations
SES and Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) have installed 1,100 solar‑powered base stations across the Democratic Republic of the Congo, pushing mobile coverage to 27% of the population and adding roughly 1.3 million new users. The rollout relies on VSAT backhaul and...
Broadband Shorts February 2026
Amazon One has asked the FCC for a two‑year extension to meet its 1,600‑satellite launch deadline, currently operating only 212 satellites, while the FCC approved an additional 4,500 satellites for its constellation. The NTIA quickly rebuffed Starlink’s push to loosen...
GoFibre Starts Full Fibre Build for 100,000 Premises Rollout in North East Scotland
GoFibre secured a £105 million Project Gigabit contract to deliver gigabit‑capable broadband to 63,000 premises across North East Scotland, with a commercial extension targeting 100,000 premises overall. The rollout will commence in early 2026 in towns such as Stonehaven, St Cyrus, Laurencekirk, Auchenblae,...
Ofcom Says Overall Phone and Broadband Prices Are Falling
Ofcom reports that UK phone and broadband prices are trending down, with high‑speed 900 Mbps plans now costing roughly half of what they did a few years ago. The regulator outlines ten practical ways consumers can cut costs, from switching providers...
Configuring 6PE Route Reflector on Cisco IOS
Deploying a BGP route reflector for MPLS 6PE or L3VPN on Cisco IOS requires IPv6 routing to be enabled, even when the device never forwards IPv6 traffic. Without the "ipv6 unicast-routing" command, IOS rejects IPv6 address‑family configuration, causing integration tests to...
Ciena Unveils New Pluggable Optical Engine to Meet Data Center AI Demands
Ciena introduced the Vesta 200 6.4T CPX, a pluggable co‑packaged optical (CPO) engine that delivers the industry’s highest density and up to 70% lower power consumption. The module supports 200 Gb/s per lane, retimer‑free linear‑drive operation and a 20 dB electrical loss budget, enabling...
Interview with Summer Collins, Chief AI and Data Director of One NZ
In a recent MIT CISR interview, Summer Collins, One NZ’s Chief AI and Data Director, detailed the telco’s enterprise‑wide push to embed artificial intelligence into its core operations. The initiative centers on a unified data platform, AI‑driven customer service tools,...
Interview Highlights with Summer Collins, Chief AI and Data Director of One NZ
One New Zealand is undertaking a company‑wide transformation to embed artificial intelligence into every layer of its operations, as explained by Chief AI and Data Director Summer Collins. The initiative centralises data from network, customer, and service systems onto a...
The Day Europe’s Data Stops Flowing
Europe’s digital economy is increasingly dependent on a complex data infrastructure that remains vulnerable to prolonged outages. The authors model how a systemic failure could evolve from brief inconveniences to widespread power loss, overwhelmed emergency services, and financial disruption within...
SpaceX Targets 150Mbps per User for Upgraded Starlink Direct-to-Cell
SpaceX announced it aims for peak download speeds of 150 Mbps per user on its next‑generation Starlink Direct‑to‑Cell service. The current satellite‑to‑phone offering, delivered with T‑Mobile under the T‑Satellite brand, tops out at roughly 4 Mbps and is limited to texting and...
Broadband Grant Deadlines
Federal broadband grants from programs such as CAF II, RDOF, ReConnect, the Capital Projects Fund, ARPA, and NTIA face hard completion deadlines, many of which fall on December 31, 2026. The federal government has signaled no appetite for extensions, meaning...
NXP TJA1410 and TJF1410 PMD Transceivers Enable “CAN-Like” Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) Connectivity
NXP has introduced two 10BASE‑T1S Physical Medium Dependent transceivers – the automotive‑grade TJA1410 and the industrial‑grade TJF1410 – that offload only the analog front‑end while the digital PHY resides in the host MCU or switch. Both devices use a three‑pin...
Viasat, BSNL Unveil Satellite Skilling Course in India
BSNL and Viasat India have launched a 22‑hour virtual training program on satellite communications and applications, hosted at the Bharat Ratna Bhim Rao Ambedkar Institute of Telecom Training (BRBRAITT) in Jabalpur. The course, part of the proposed Telecom Innovation, Research...
On AI Agents Speaking BGP
A recent proof‑of‑concept demonstrates an AI‑driven natural‑language interface that talks directly to a custom BGP daemon. The author argues that existing open‑source BGP suites like FRRouting already provide machine‑readable JSON and can be wrapped with simple REST APIs. Reinventing a...
MWC 2026 | Ericsson to Showcase 6G Capabilities with Apple, MediaTek
Ericsson announced at MWC 2026 that it will showcase live 6G demonstrations in partnership with Apple and MediaTek. The Apple demo will feature Multi‑RAT Spectrum Sharing (MRSS) to illustrate seamless 5G‑to‑6G coexistence, while MediaTek will present a 6G centimeter‑wave data‑call prototype...
Towards an Industry Best Practice for DNSSEC Automation
DNSSEC adoption remains modest, with only 36 % of resolvers validating and 7 % of domains securely delegated in 2025, hampered by complex enrollment and manual key‑rollovers. Automation using authenticated CDS/CDNSKEY records can eliminate these hurdles, and several European ccTLDs have already...
Microsoft Makes a Pitch for Telcos with Announcements Ahead of Mobile World Congress 2026
Microsoft announced a suite of telco‑focused services ahead of Mobile World Congress 2026. The company is rolling out Azure Local, Microsoft 365 Local, and Foundry Local to deliver sovereign‑cloud and edge capabilities for disconnected operations. In March, Databricks Lakebase will reach general availability,...
Ukraine as a Laboratory of Internet Resilience
Four years into Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s Internet has not collapsed despite extensive damage to its telecom infrastructure. Roughly 25 % of cables and equipment were destroyed, representing a $1.6 billion loss, yet service persisted through rerouting, redundancy and rapid repairs. The resilience...
Press Release: Gilat Receives $39 Million in Orders for Sidewinder ESA
Gilat Satellite Networks announced $39 million in orders for its Sidewinder electronically steered antenna (ESA) in‑flight connectivity terminals from a leading satellite operator, with deliveries slated over the next 12 months. The orders cover both line‑fit and retrofit installations, underscoring airlines'...
Peru Begins Campaign to Block Further 100K 'High-Risk' Handsets
Peruvian telecom regulator Osiptel announced a new phase of its anti‑fraud campaign, blocking an additional 100,000 handsets deemed high‑risk. The devices are not listed in the official Renteseg database and are associated with repeated use of invalid or cloned IMEIs....
Anritsu, Qualcomm to Present Pre-6G 7 GHz Device Testing at MWC
Qualcomm and Anritsu will showcase a pre‑6G mobile‑device test case operating at 7.125 GHz during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The demonstration uses an upgraded Anritsu MT8000A test station, extending its RF hardware to cover 7‑16 GHz, thereby adding support for lower...
Dhiraagu Invites Applications for Public Shareholders Slot on Board
Maldives telecom operator Dhiraagu has announced that it will accept applications from public shareholders for a vacant public director seat on its board. The public director represents shareholders who do not hold a majority stake and is elected exclusively by...
American Tower Reports 8% Rise in Q4 Revenue
American Tower posted a 7.5% increase in fourth‑quarter 2025 revenue, reaching $2.74 billion, while property revenue rose 7.6% to $2.67 billion. Tenant billings grew organically by $109 million, a 5.9% rise. Adjusted funds from operations per share climbed 8.2%, marking high single‑digit growth....
Sustainable Spectrum Policy Dossier Updated for 2026
The Sustainable Spectrum Policy dossier has been refreshed for 2026, adding a new research note on space sustainability. It highlights the ESA Zero Debris Charter’s net‑zero target for 2030, the APRSAF “Nagoya Vision” on responsible space use, and IADC’s global...
Cellular Backup for Broadband
Amazon introduced the eero Signal, an add‑on for its eero Wi‑Fi mesh that automatically switches to cellular broadband when the primary internet fails. The 4G‑only device retails for $99.99 and includes six months of service, after which a $99.99 annual...
KPN Refreshes Postpaid Plans to Underline Premium Unlimited Plans
Dutch telecom operator KPN has overhauled its post‑paid mobile portfolio, introducing higher‑priced plans that are simpler to understand. The new offerings feature larger data allowances on fixed‑quota tiers, albeit with reduced speeds compared with the premium unlimited option. Existing customers...
HFCL, IIT Delhi Come Together on Development of Hollow-Core Fiber Tech
HFCL Limited has joined a Department of Telecommunications‑funded consortium led by IIT Delhi to develop hollow‑core fiber (HCF) technology for future 6G and quantum communication networks. The partnership leverages HFCL’s manufacturing expertise and IIT Delhi’s research capabilities to accelerate the...
When ToR Instability Collapses Cross-Rack Redundancy Without Breaching SLA
The article describes a two‑rack deployment where each rack relied on a single top‑of‑rack switch, making each rack a lone failure domain. When the ToR in rack 2 became unstable, database replica loss and ARP failures occurred, yet latency and error‑rate...
Tune Talk Picks Mavenir to Build AI‑driven Mobile Infra
Tune Talk has completed its transition to a fully independent, cloud‑native mobile network operator by partnering with Mavenir, which supplied AI‑driven OSS and BSS platforms. The new architecture gives Tune Talk end‑to‑end control, zero‑touch automation and self‑healing capabilities, accelerating digital...
RAD Debuts 400G Ethernet Platform for DCI, Enterprise Connectivity
RAD announced the ETX‑2i‑400G, a 400 Gbps Ethernet demarcation and aggregation platform designed for data‑center interconnect and high‑capacity enterprise links. The device targets communications service providers seeking low‑latency, SLA‑driven services that can handle AI‑intensive workloads. It incorporates multiple 400 G QSP‑DD interfaces...
Interesting: Open Space Events
Martin Fowler highlighted Open Space events as a self‑organizing format where participants set the agenda on the fly. The approach offers a structured yet flexible alternative to informal gatherings like Net::Beer, making it attractive for small tech meetups such as...
MWC 2026 | Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, TIM and Vodafone Demo Federated Edge Continuum
At Mobile World Congress 2026 the five largest European telcos—Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, TIM and Vodafone—demonstrated the first live European Edge Continuum, a federated edge infrastructure spanning their networks. The federation, built on EU‑funded IPCEI‑CIS components, is now operational in...
Ericsson, University of Toronto Partner to Drive AI Powered Mobile Tech
Ericsson and the University of Toronto have signed a three‑year partnership, committing $1 million to accelerate AI‑powered mobile communications research. The agreement focuses on advancing 5G technologies while laying groundwork for future 6G networks. It also creates industry‑linked projects to develop...
Balancing Growth and Efficiency — APNIC 61 Policy SIG Deliberations on IPv6 and IPv4 Allocation
At APNIC 61’s Policy SIG in Jakarta, members debated two pivotal proposals: prop‑164, which would lower the minimum IPv6 allocation from a /32 to a /36, and prop‑168, which seeks to raise the maximum IPv4 delegation for account holders to a...
New Pepwave 5G Dongle Brings Ethernet-Over-USB 5G to Peplink Routers and Laptops
Peplink is launching the Pepwave 5G Dongle, a compact USB‑C modem that delivers Ethernet‑over‑USB 5G connectivity for its routers and laptops. Built on a Qualcomm X62 chipset, the device supports dual physical nano‑SIM slots, dual eSIMs and a wide range of sub‑6 GHz 5G/LTE...
Broadband Usage in 4Q 2025
OpenVault’s Q4 2025 Broadband Insights Report shows U.S. households downloaded an average 59 GB more and uploaded 10 GB more per month than a year earlier. Upload growth outpaced downloads, driven by video calls, cloud backup and IoT traffic. Fiber subscribers uploaded 93 GB...
Telefónica, Mavenir Partner to Drive AI Innovation in Telecom
Telefónica and Mavenir have signed an MOU to launch an AI Innovation Hub that will serve as a live testbed for autonomous core network technologies. The hub will enable development and validation of AI‑driven orchestration, intent‑based services, and monetization frameworks...
Netlab: The Caveats of Using Startup Configurations
Petr Ankudinov warns against relying on containerlab's startup‑config option for netlab deployments. While containerlab can apply partial startup configurations to most devices, it only supports complete startup files for Arista cEOS, forcing netlab to duplicate initial device setup. Errors in...
Reflections on a Transforming Interconnection Ecosystem
Flavio Luciani and John Souter’s new analysis shows the global peering market is not contracting but evolving. While mature regions exhibit modest dips in ASN counts, overall IXP capacity continues to rise, driven by traffic consolidation and the growth of...
SKT 6G ATHENA White Paper: A Mid-to-Long Term Network Evolution Strategy for the AI Era
SK Telecom released the ATHENA white paper outlining its mid‑to‑long‑term strategy for a 6G network that is AI‑native, Zero‑Trust, and open. The framework, encapsulated by the ATHENA acronym, maps out how AI will be embedded across radio, core, transport and...
Ericsson Goes with Custom Silicon (Rather than Nvidia GPUs) for AI RAN
Ahead of MWC Barcelona 2026 Ericsson unveiled its AI‑RAN portfolio, opting for purpose‑built ASIC silicon instead of Nvidia GPUs and confirming Intel as its only commercial silicon partner. The company highlighted a software‑defined approach that uses hardware abstraction layers to...
Unintended Consequences
EchoStar exited the facility‑based cellular market after FCC pressure to monetize its spectrum, selling valuable bands to Starlink and AT&T while walking away from thousands of tower lease payments. The lease abandonment has prompted tower owners to seek FCC intervention,...
Weekly Wrap: Why I Think Indefinite Spectrum Licences Are a Bad Idea
The European Commission’s Digital Networks Act proposes spectrum licences of up to 40 years, or even indefinite duration, a sharp increase from the current 15‑25‑year norm. Mobile operators back the change, arguing it offers long‑term certainty for investment. Critics contend...
Public Videos: EVPN in MPLS-Based Environments
The article announces that Krzysztof Szarkowicz’s presentation on EVPN in MPLS‑based environments is now publicly available as part of the EVPN Technical Deep Dive webinar series. While EVPN is often discussed alongside VXLAN, its original purpose was to serve as...