Telecoms.com

There are now over 1000 commercially available 5G devices

The Global (mobile) Suppliers Association says the number of announced 5G devices rose by 3.2% in March 2022, bringing the total number to 1,334, 677 of which are mobile phones.

• 27 Apr 2022

Belgium says no to 5G mmWave down south

The government of Belgium’s Wallonia region has given the go-ahead for an increase in radiation limits for 5G, but is sticking to its guns on health concerns about millimetre wave.

• 25 Apr 2022

The Telecoms.com Podcast: BT, 5G and streaming

The lads are delighted to welcome special guest Neil McRae to the pod this week, who is no less than the Chief Architect for BT. They start by exploring what such a grown-up job title entails, in the process learning a fair bit about what makes BT tick from a strategic point of view. That naturally leads onto topics like Open RAN and 5G, including concerns about the latter not being all its cracked up to be, before they conclude with a look at difficulties faced by some major streaming services.

• 25 Apr 2022

O2, EE, Vodafone and Three beaten by MVNOs on price and service

Virtual operators like Smarty, Giffgaff, Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile performed better than the big four operators on customer service and value for money in a Which? survey.

• 25 Apr 2022

VMO2 has been busy beefing up its networks in Greater Manchester

UK telco VMO2 has announced a roster of network upgrades deployed across the Greater Manchester Region over the past year or so.

• 21 Apr 2022

EE and Qualcomm aggregate no less than seven spectrum carriers

UK MNO EE joined forces with US mobile chip giant Qualcomm to use seven distinct chunks of spectrum at once, resulting in more 5G bandwidth.

• 20 Apr 2022

What really moved the needle at MWC 2022?

At Barcelona this year, the focus was more on the enterprise market and private networks along with ‘open’ multivendor solutions and webscalers.

• 19 Apr 2022

The Telecoms.com Podcast: Ericsson, M&A and Twitter

Both Iain and Scott were carrying bugs when this was recorded but it will take more than that to keep them from their podding duties. They start by reflecting on Ericsson’s quarterly earnings announcement, specifically concerning the trouble the company is in regarding its historical activities in Iraq. Rumours of a Vodafone UK acquisition yield a chat about telco M&A before they conclude with the then breaking news of Elon Musk bidding to buy the whole of Twitter.

• 19 Apr 2022

Ericsson shares sink further after tough Q1 earnings report

A combination of historical misdeeds in Iraq and the need to pull out of Russia loomed heavy on Swedish kit vendor Ericsson’s latest quarterlies.

• 14 Apr 2022

Samsung and VMO2 roll out new 4G and 5G sites

South Korean tech giant Samsung and UK telco VMO2 have deployed a series of new 4G and 5G sites across the UK.

• 13 Apr 2022

Vodafone offers ‘social tariff’ with unlimited 5G use for £10

UK operator Vodafone’s Voxi For Now tariff is available to anyone receiving benefits, and offers unlimited 5G data, calls and texts for a tenner.

• 13 Apr 2022

Deutsche Telekom reportedly fielding multiple bids for tower business

German operator Deutsche Telekom is apparently reviewing bids for its tower business from multiple suitors including Vodafone’s Vantage Towers, KKR, GIP, Cellnex and America Tower Corp.

• 12 Apr 2022

The Telecoms.com Podcast: 5G NR, backhaul and metaverse

Scott manages to limp in for an episode with just Iain and, of course, Pierre this week. They start by devoting a whole segment to 5G New Radio, questioning whether it’s all it’s cracked up to be. They move on to the often overlooked matter of backhaul and what it means for one operator to be dependent on another for that sort of thing, before concluding with a look at plans to develop a metaverse for kids.

• 11 Apr 2022

Operators collaborate to keep Ukrainian refugees connected

European and Ukrainian operators have signed a Joint Statement in collaboration with the EU to nail down continued measures to make sure people fleeing the war in Ukraine have mobile connectivity.

• 08 Apr 2022

Three’s 5G handset usage quadrupled in 2021

UK operator Three has put out a bunch of stats within its ‘Mobile Britain’ report – including that 5G usage on its network has increased by 385% since 2020, and handset numbers have quadrupled.

• 08 Apr 2022

Softbank borrows JPY35 billion to fund ‘Society 5.0’ 5G build

Japanese operator Softbank played up the societal benefits of 5G as it raised fresh funds for its network rollout.

• 08 Apr 2022

Iliad and WindTre inch towards rural 5G JV

Italian operators Iliad and WindTre appear to have made progress in their plan to share the burden of rural 5G rollout.

• 08 Apr 2022

Northrop Grumman hopes AT&T can make it better at blowing stuff up

AT&T and giant US defense contractor Northrop Grumman want to see how 5G can improve the efficacy of US armed forces.

• 06 Apr 2022

Indian telcos rail against private 5G

India’s three big mobile operators are apparently attempting to block companies seeking to roll out private 5G networks from participating in the country’s upcoming spectrum auction.

• 06 Apr 2022

Mine’s bigger than yours: German operators vie for 5G bragging rights

For all their talk of services and enabling a digital lifestyle, sometimes telcos just want to show off about the size of their networks.

• 05 Apr 2022