Fastwyre Broadband, a legacy communications company, is investing $65 million into amplifying its fiber-optic infrastructure throughout Louisiana. The objective is to deliver unparalleled internet speeds, championing both residential and business connectivity requirements. CEO, Chris Eldredge, outlined the company’s profound commitment to fostering digital empowerment within local communities.
Intelsat has recently made headlines with several announcements at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), highlighting the evolving role of satellite connectivity in today’s digital world. Among these announcements was the notable expansion of its partnership with Openserve, a South African telecommunications infrastructure provider, to include cutting-edge hardware and enhanced satellite services. This move underscores a broader shift in the satellite connectivity landscape, from a focus on remote areas to a versatile tool for modern telecommunications challenges.
In a groundbreaking development, Rakuten Mobile, in partnership with Nokia, has successfully conducted a trial demonstrating the capability of transmitting data at a rate of 1 terabit per second (Tbps) over a single wavelength. This trial spanned an impressive distance of 820 kilometers across both subsea and terrestrial networks in Japan, setting a new benchmark in the Asia Pacific region for this level of data transmission.
The telecommunications sector leaps forward as KDDI and SpaceX bring a game-changing satellite-to-cellular service, intertwining mobile and satellite technologies. Leveraging SpaceX’s Starlink low-earth orbit satellites and KDDI’s national wireless spectrum, the partnership aims to expand urban connectivity into rural areas. While the innovation promises swift deployment and extensive coverage, it also poses challenges, including the need for costly, satellite-enabled handsets.
In a groundbreaking move, Mavenir is joining forces with Terrestar Solutions, a satellite operator based in Canada, to pioneer a project that seamlessly blends satellite connectivity with Open RAN terrestrial networks. This collaboration, revealed just before the Mobile World Congress (MWC), aims to offer users across the globe uninterrupted connectivity by merging satellite and terrestrial network capabilities.
TELUS, in partnership with Samsung Electronics, has unveiled plans to initiate Canada’s inaugural commercial virtualized and open radio access network (RAN), marking a significant leap forward in the telecom industry. This next-generation network technology aims to elevate performance, flexibility, energy efficiency, and automation, setting a new standard for mobile connectivity across Canada.
In a bold move to accelerate the United Kingdom’s digital infrastructure, nexfibre, a UK-based wholesale fibre network provider, has committed to investing £1 billion during the 2024 financial year. This investment aims to significantly expand the country’s broadband capacity, focusing on areas currently underserved by existing networks.
In an ambitious move to enhance mobile connectivity across Japan, Rakuten Mobile has announced its plan to offer satellite-to-mobile services by 2026, partnering with AST SpaceMobile. This initiative aims to leverage AST SpaceMobile’s space-based cellular broadband network, enabling direct access to smartphones for text messaging, voice, and data services.
In a significant move to bolster innovation and development in mobile network technology, the US government, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), has allocated $42.3 million to support research in Open RAN. This investment is part of a larger $1.5 billion Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund aimed at enhancing the Open RAN ecosystem. Leading the charge are telecom giants AT&T and Verizon, in collaboration with a consortium that includes notable academic institutions, industry manufacturers, and international telecom operators NTT DoCoMo from Japan and Reliance Jio from India.
In a significant development for remote connectivity, Telstra, the Australian telecom giant, has initiated the transition of its remote mobile sites to the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network provided by Eutelsat OneWeb. This move marks a departure from the traditional geostationary (GEO) satellites, aimed at reducing latency issues and meeting the growing demand for real-time services among customers.
