KDDI launches Starlink Direct international roaming in the US
UNITED STATES 02:52

KDDI launches Starlink Direct international roaming in the US

KDDI and Okinawa Cellular have begun international roaming support for their au Starlink Direct satellite-to-smartphone service in the United States from 4 March 2026. The operators said the launch represents the first cross-border roaming connection for direct satellite communications between smartphones and Starlink satellites. Initially, the service is supported on selected Google Pixel devices, with additional models expected to be added later.

Australia sees 211-day average approval time for new mobile towers
AUSTRALIA 01:17

Australia sees 211-day average approval time for new mobile towers

Delays in planning approvals remain a significant barrier to improving mobile coverage across Australia, according to recent analysis cited by industry representatives. The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) analysed 477 development applications for mobile towers and found that the average approval timeframe for new facilities was 211 days. The analysis also identified council requirements that add compliance burdens without what the industry considers a commensurate public benefit.

Soracom opens pre-orders for SGP.32-compatible Connectivity Hypervisor
GLOBAL 01:15

Soracom opens pre-orders for SGP.32-compatible Connectivity Hypervisor

Soracom has opened pre-orders for Connectivity Hypervisor, its SGP.32-compatible capability for remote management and switching of multiple operator profiles on a single IoT eSIM. The announcement was made during Mobile World Congress 2026, where SGP.32 readiness is increasingly referenced in enterprise and automotive IoT procurement processes. Soracom said the platform enables devices to activate initially on a Soracom profile and dynamically switch to local or application-specific carrier profiles, includ

Optus, Ericsson and FrontierSI trial 5G Advanced positioning for emergency services
AUSTRALIA 01:11

Optus, Ericsson and FrontierSI trial 5G Advanced positioning for emergency services

Optus, Ericsson and FrontierSI have completed a public safety proof-of-concept on the Optus 5G Standalone network, demonstrating centimetre-level positioning for emergency response operations on a live commercial network. The trial paired a first responder vehicle with an autonomously tracking drone, using 5G Advanced Global Navigation Satellite System Real-Time Kinematic positioning correction data and a dedicated public safety network slice. 

TPG waives call and roaming charges for customers affected by Middle East war
AUSTRALIA 00:52

TPG waives call and roaming charges for customers affected by Middle East war

TPG Telecom has introduced temporary support measures for customers seeking to contact family and friends in the Middle East following recent events in the region. From 8:00am AEDT on 3 March, Vodafone postpaid mobile customers are able to make free standard international voice calls from Australia to selected destinations in the Middle East. Customers located in those destinations can also make standard voice calls back to Australia at no charge. The calls will not be deducted from included plan minutes an

Microamp partners High Tech Inter for 5G mmWave deployment in Japan and APAC
JAPAN 00:47

Microamp partners High Tech Inter for 5G mmWave deployment in Japan and APAC

Polish company Microamp and Japanese firm High Tech Inter have entered into a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of 5G millimetre wave networks in Japan and across the Asia-Pacific region. The companies said the agreement combines Microamp's end-to-end 5G mmWave network technology with High Tech Inter's system integration and deployment capabilities, targeting commercial and mission-critical applications requiring high resilience, ultra-high capacity and low latency connectivity.

Anritsu test systems integrated into ETS-Lindgren 5G FR2 OTA platform
UNITED STATES 00:43

Anritsu test systems integrated into ETS-Lindgren 5G FR2 OTA platform

Anritsu has announced that its MT8000A and MT8821C wireless communication test systems have been integrated into a CTIA-certified 5G FR2 over-the-air (OTA) test platform developed by ETS-Lindgren, headquartered in Cedar Park, Texas. The US company specialises in electromagnetic and acoustic measurement and shielding systems. Its FR2 OTA system has obtained certification under the CTIA specification for millimetre wave testing, enabling spatial evaluation of 5G millimetre wave radio performance.

Sunrise partners Satellite Connect Europe to try D2D services
SWITZERLAND 3 MRT

Sunrise partners Satellite Connect Europe to try D2D services

Swiss operator Sunrise is partnering with Satellite Connect Europe to assess the latter's direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity service, and how it could improve 4G and 5G coverage in Switzerland. The partners will test whether smartphones seamlessly transition from mobile to satellite signals in areas with limited or no coverage. Satellite Connect Europe is the joint venture set up by Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile for D2D services which is partnering also with other European mobile network operators

Telefonica Germany moves 5G core functions to AWS Outposts
GERMANY 3 MRT

Telefonica Germany moves 5G core functions to AWS Outposts

Telefonica Germany has moved the operation of its 5G core network to cloud-based architecture from Amazon Web Services, using its own data centre based on the AWS Outposts service. The cloud-based architecture operates in parallel with Telefonica's existing 5G core network, using AWS machine learning services, including large language models (LLMs) from Amazon Bedrock, to automate complex 5G maintenance workflows. Telefonica uses equipment provided by Nokia to run its 5G core network on AWS infrastructure u

Imagine signs network access agreement with Eir
IRELAND 3 MRT

Imagine signs network access agreement with Eir

Irish broadband provider Imagine Communications has signed an agreement to use the Open Eir network, reports RTE News. The 3-year, multi-million-euro deal gives Imagine access to the Eir fibre network, mobile network and over 170 PoPs. The two companies will also co-operate on mobile broadband services, with a trial now live delivering 5G services to over 4,000 home broadband devices using Eir's mobile network.

Vantiva introduces Hawk 5G FWA terminal with Wi-Fi 8
GLOBAL 3 MRT

Vantiva introduces Hawk 5G FWA terminal with Wi-Fi 8

Vantiva launched its evolved fixed-wireless access terminal to market in the US, Australia and EMEA. The Hawk 5G FWA terminal builds on Vantiva's Condor 5G product introduced in March 2025, while introducing broader processing capabilities for 5G Standalone links. For example Hawk 5G leverages the Dragonwing FWA Gen 4 Elite platform, continuing Vantiva's relationship with Qualcomm that saw Condor 5G deploy the Gen 3 model.

Comba Telecom intros indoor 5G cell for high-density enterprise environments
GLOBAL 3 MRT

Comba Telecom intros indoor 5G cell for high-density enterprise environments

Comba Telecom Systems announced the launch of a 5G small cell product targeting high-density commercial environments. Comba's 5G Enterprise Picocell product delivers 5G coverage across up to 128 simultaneous users, with support for sub-6 GHz 5G time and frequency division duplex bands (TDD, FDD) as well as 4G FDD to ease integration with legacy infrastructure. The system's physical profile is designed to be compact and it supports power-over-Ethernet to limit cable sprawl in space-constrained environments,

GLOBAL 3 MRT

TCL introduces 5G CPE, mobile hotspot and Wi-Fi 7 mesh router

TCL has announced new home broadband routers including a 5G broadband device at MWC 26 in Barcelona. Its fully fledged 5G CPE B50 home router is marketed towards entry-level Wi-Fi 7 purchases and provides dual band connectivity for up to 3.6 Gbps over Wi-Fi, and up to 5.7 Gbps from 5G transmitters. Compliant with the EasyMesh R6 protocol, the device boasts high-gain 5G antennas with full-band 4x4 MIMO for better coverage with reduced interference, and supports up to 128 simultaneous end connections.

GLOBAL 3 MRT

AirHop brings AI-RAN automations to Nokia SMO platform

AirHop is bringing its Auptim portfolio of RAN automations and optimisations to Nokia's Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) platform. The partnership combines Airhop's specialised RAN algorithms with Nokia's autonomous networking platform.

UNITED STATES 3 MRT

AT&T to preview new AWS Interconnect offering in Q2

AT&T has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide scalable last-mile connectivity for business AI workloads. The new AWS Interconnect service brings AT&T fibre and fixed wireless connectivity directly into AWS environments, with a preview available to qualifying customers in select areas in Q2 2026. Availability will be extended after the preview phase, which will be used to validate the end-to-end customer experience.

TURKEY 3 MRT

Turk Telekom, P.I. Works partner on AI-based 5G network slicing assurance

Turk Telekom and P.I. Works have announced their collaboration on AI-driven 5G network slicing assurance during GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2026. Turk Telekom has trialed P.I. Works' AI-powered 5G RAN Slice Assurance service at its R&D Innovation & Test Center, to support the delivery of differentiated and performance-assured 5G services.

UNITED STATES 3 MRT

AT&T, Ericsson successfully test AI-native Link Adaptation on Cloud RAN

AT&T and Ericsson have successfully tested Ericsson's AI-native Link Adaptation on a Cloud RAN stack powered by the Intel Xeon 6 SoC chipset. The demo included the Xeon 6 SoC in AT&T's target Cloud RAN environment, showing how Ericsson's AI solution can enhance network efficiency. 

EUROPE 3 MRT

Vodafone, Samsung complete call using vRAN solution and new Intel chipset

Vodafone and Samsung have completed the first call in Europe using Samsung's virtualised RAN (vRAN) solution and the Intel Xeon 6 SoC. This successful validation of the new Intel chipset builds on an existing Open RAN deployment in Germany. The milestone was achieved with partners Wind River (cloud platform) and Dell Technologies (server), with the solution set for commercial deployment in 2026. This will allow Vodafone to manage fewer systems and less hardware, while also lowering costs and energy use.

GLOBAL 3 MRT

Skyworks presents pre-6G FR3 front-end power amplifier

Signal components vendor Skyworks Solutions is presenting an early reference design for 6G RF front-end (RFFE) low noise and power amplifiers at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona. Its live demo showcases an integrated low noise and power amplifier module with integrated filters tailored to upper 6 GHz spectrum in the 6.425 - 7 GHz range, considered a viable option to deliver large channel bandwidths up to 400 MHz. The reference design, supported by Skyworks' mobile silicon partner MediaTek, is based o

ITALY 3 MRT

Italy's Noitel revamps 4G and 5G portfolio

Italy's Noitel, operating on Vodafone Italia's network, has refreshed its range of 4G and 5G plans, removing all previously available 5G-branded rates capped at 60 Mbps. Instead, a single 5G plan at download speeds of up to 2 Gbps dubber Super Jump 5G Full Speed is currently on offer at a price of EUR 9.99 a month for 200GB of data, unlimited calls and 50 SMS.

GLOBAL 3 MRT

Ericsson and Nokia to participate in each others' rApp marketplaces

Ericsson and Nokia have announced a collaboration that sees each partner become a member of its peer's rApp software ecosystem for Open RAN optimisations. Nokia only recently introduced its rApp ecosystem and Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) marketplace, while Ericsson's rApp catalogue has operated for a while longer as part of its SMO-focused Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP). This agreement is intended to support multi-vendor SMO ecosystems, providing enhanced supplier flexibility

GLOBAL 3 MRT

MaxLinear to supply Sierra SoC to Samji Electronics' O-RU project

South Korea-based mobile site equipment vendor Samji Electronics has selected MaxLinear's Sierra RF system-on-chip to underpin its upcoming radio unit targeting macro base stations. A live demo of Samji Electronics' upcoming SNOO2-44N28 Macro Radio is planned for MWC 2026 in Barcelona. Samji's Open RAN-compliant radio unit (O-RU) is designed to provide next-generation functionality aligned with modern cellular networks.

GERMANY 3 MRT

O2 Telefonica, Ekinops offer B2B 5G mobile fixed line extension solution

O2 Telefonica and Ekinops, enterprise secured connectivity specialist, have partnered to launch a joint 5G mobile fixed line extension solution for enterprise customers in Germany. This will provide customers with high-speed 5G connectivity, even in difficult coverage areas. 

GLOBAL 3 MRT

Android rolls out carrier onboarding support for RCS messaging, eSIM and satellite

Google's Android unit has announced the launch of the Android Network Ready programme. Android Network Ready was created to help eligible mobile carriers and virtual network operators (MVNOs) offer premium Android services and experiences to their customers right after they have purchased a new Android handset. The platform is built on a GSMA-aligned entitlement infrastructure used to automate and digitise customer onboarding, providing a standards-compliant process to streamline carrier rollouts of advance

Just In

02:52

KDDI launches Starlink Direct international roaming in the US

01:25

SKT advances modular and CXL-based AI data centre strategy

01:23

LG Uplus CEO Hong Beom-sik outlines AI voice strategy at MWC26 keynote

01:17

Australia sees 211-day average approval time for new mobile towers

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Background

1 MRT 13:21

The week in telecoms: Paramount tops bidding for WBD, Samsung S26 kicks off MWC showcase

23 FEB 00:28

The week in telecoms: Liberty Global tackles cable vs fibre question, Orange promises dividends and MEA market goes wholesale

16 FEB 00:17

The week in telecoms: Cisco rides AI investment wave and European telcos invest in South America

9 FEB 01:54

The week in telecoms: hyperscalers vie for capex crown, Telenor and Vodafone profit from smaller footprints