UK mobile providers pressured to provide free data during lockdown After the UK decided to close schools again, UK telecoms providers were urged to stop charging for data so that underprivileged children could access remote learning facilities. It is concerning that children in such families lack the technological resources to attend schools from home, where a computer and an Internet connection is required. Although it may be hard to imagine, there are many families that do not have access to the necessary services, especially broadband. The company, Three UK, wasted no time in rushing to announce that it will provide unrestricted data access to disadvantaged children so they could continue their education. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y46zylg2 T-Mobile reaches record connection gains in 2020 T-Mobile US announced that 2020 was the best year in their history for postpaid net additions, showing preliminary results that indicate a major win, despite the Covid-19…
Facebook, telcos to build a huge subsea cable for Africa and the Middle East Facebook, together with a group of telecom companies, including Vodafone, Orange, STC, China Mobile International, MTN GlobalConnect, Telecom Egypt, and WIOCC, will build a subsea cable system that is claimed to be one of the largest in the world. The project is called 2Africa and will cover 37,000 km of cables interconnecting Europe (eastward via Egypt), the Middle East (via Saudi Arabia), and 21 landings in 16 countries in Africa. The system is expected to go live in 2023/4, delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa today, with a design capacity of up to 180 Tbps. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yahgfe8g Workvivo raises $16 million to reinvent the intranet in the age of Slack and Zoom The Irish startup Workvivo, an employee communications platform, has raised USD 16 million in a Series A…
The latest report by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) indicates that the 50th commercial 5G network has now been launched, following the activation of 5G services in China. All the three state-backed telecom operators, China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom have launched next-gen networks and have already registered more than 9 million 5G subscribers. The GSA 5G Market Snapshot marks this deployment as the 50th commercial roll out of a 5G network. Joe Barrett, the President of the GSA, said, “I think that we have all been surprised by how quickly 5G has taken off, with deployments and commitments from across the globe gathering pace. This latest milestone, combined with commercial launches in the world’s largest mobile market, is set to lead to an explosion in 5G users and also have a knock-on impact on driving both use cases and innovation.” By the end of October 2019, the…
A federal budget amendment extends spectrum auction authority to 2034, aiming to raise revenue by identifying 600 megahertz for auction. While excluding key bands like 3 GHz and 6 GHz, the plan sparks debate over spectrum use, with industry leaders divided on reallocating the CBRS band.
Nokia is partnering with Maersk to equip 450 vessels with private wireless networks, enhancing cargo tracking and real-time monitoring. The system will support thousands of IoT devices, improving efficiency and visibility across Maersk’s global logistics operations.
Shanghai has become China’s first mega-city to achieve comprehensive 5G coverage throughout its entire metro system. This milestone spans all 21 metro lines, significantly enhancing Shanghai’s transportation network with real-time operations, predictive maintenance, and smart urban transit.
Huawei is embroiled in a bribery scandal linked to the European Parliament, with Belgian authorities leading an investigation that has resulted in multiple arrests across Europe. The probe alleges Huawei used luxury gifts and payments to influence EU politics.
China-based Sequans Communications recently expanded by acquiring Swiss company ACP, strengthening its ambitions in the rapidly growing 5G RedCap sector. This strategic acquisition enhances Sequans’ capabilities to capture the expanding eRedCap market.
Open RAN technology struggled in 2024, with a revenue decline of nearly half a billion dollars. Despite this setback, there is optimistic potential for Open RAN’s long-term growth, especially with increased 5G activity.
Open Gateway, initiated by GSMA, is set to redefine mobile networks with standardized telecom APIs, underpinning 5G’s potential. With coverage from 67 global operators, it aims to streamline developer interaction and offers vast opportunities for API-driven fraud prevention, edge computing, and digital transformation.