FCC rejects Starlink’s bid for $886M in subsidies

The FCC has denied Elon Musk's Starlink a hefty $886 million subsidy from the Universal Service Fund, allocated for expanding broadband services in rural areas.

The rejected bid, originally intended for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program, faced criticism as the FCC deemed Starlink incapable of proving its ability to deliver the promised broadband service.

This decision echoes a similar move by the FCC last year, prompting an appeal from SpaceX, Musk's...

13 December 2023 | Legislation & Government

AT&T plans most wireless traffic to flow across Open RAN by 2026

AT&T has unveiled plans to transition 70 percent of its wireless network traffic to open-capable platforms by late 2026.

The telecoms giant aims to fully integrate Open RAN sites in collaboration with industry leaders Ericsson and Fujitsu, starting as early as 2024. This departure from closed proprietary interfaces signifies a pivotal shift towards rapid scaling and effective management of diverse hardware suppliers at each cell site.

AT&T's timeline includes...

5 December 2023 | 5G

Huawei boosts European presence with Paris Innovation Center

Huawei hosted Innovation Day 2023 in Paris, focusing on 'SME Innovation: Unlocking Europe's Economic Future.'

The event united innovators from Europe and beyond to explore collaborative strategies for the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). At the heart of the occasion, Huawei revealed the inauguration of its Paris Innovation Center, a pivotal platform for advancing collaboration between Huawei and its partners.

Vicky Zhang, Huawei's Vice President of...

17 November 2023 | Digital Transformation

5G-Advanced poised for enterprise success, but challenges persist

The rapid adoption of 5G in the past three years marks a significant milestone, making it the fastest-adopted cellular generation to date. However, a report commissioned by InterDigital and conducted by ABI Research warns that 5G has yet to fully realise its potential in unlocking new business opportunities.

The report outlines that while the foundational development of 5G has enhanced network capacity, speed, and latency, mobile operators have struggled to tap into the enterprise...

15 November 2023 | 5G

Qualcomm cuts satellite-to-phone partnership with Iridium

Qualcomm has cut its partnership with satellite communications firm Iridium to provide satellite-to-phone services.

The partnership was initially announced in January 2023 and was broadly seen to be Android’s alternative to Apple’s partnership with Globalstar last year to launch its own satellite-powered emergency SOS feature for iPhone and Apple Watch.

Despite the successful development and demonstration of the technology by both companies, the primary reason cited...

10 November 2023 | Hot Topics

Groundbreaking trial aims to bring 5G to the Baltic Sea

LMT, in conjunction with technical port services provider LVR Fleet, has successfully completed a trial that aims to bring 5G to the Baltic Sea.

The trial – conducted on the Daugava River in Riga, Latvia – showcased seamless 5G communication from shore-to-ship and ship-to-ship. The maritime concept shows how 5G connectivity can be achieved over open waters.

The concept operates on the multi-hop principle, where the 5G network signal is relayed from one ship to...

9 November 2023 | 5G

Rural 5G deprivation hinders nearly a million Brits

A recent study commissioned by Vodafone UK and conducted by WPI Economics has shed light on a significant digital divide prevailing in Britain's most deprived communities.

Titled 'Connecting the Countryside', the report revealed a striking contrast in 5G accessibility between rural and urban areas. According to the findings, 46 percent of rural deprived areas are 5G not-spots—in stark contrast to just 2.7 percent in urban deprived communities.

The study pinpointed five...

8 November 2023 | 5G

Nokia and Hololight enhance XR experiences using L4S

Nokia has joined forces with Hololight to explore how the capabilities of the L4S protocol can enhance XR (extended reality) experiences.

L4S – which stands for low-latency, low-loss, scalable throughput – was developed by Nokia and has the potential to revolutionise real-time applications by simultaneously achieving high throughput and low latency in a scalable manner.

Hololight believes L4S can significantly enhance the performance of cloud-rendered XR services,...

2 November 2023 | 5G

Global utilities set to invest £2B by 2026 in private cellular networks

A report by SNS Telecom & IT highlights that the utilities sector is gearing up for a digital transformation with substantial investments in private 5G/4G cellular networks.

The networks, also known as Non-Public Networks (NPNs), are witnessing a global surge in popularity across various industries.

The utilities sector has a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15 percent over the next three years. This growth trend translates into nearly £2 billion in...

27 October 2023 | 5G

Vodafone and Arm to collaborate on Open RAN platforms

To meet the surging demand for faster and greener mobile connectivity, Vodafone is collaborating with Arm to expedite the development of new platforms for Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN).

By leveraging Arm architecture, Vodafone aims to create platforms optimised for use in Open RAN base stations; ensuring they possess enough computational prowess to meet the escalating demands of advanced 5G services. These processors, adhering to Open RAN principles, will utilise...

10 October 2023 | 5G