French spectrum agency sets higher vigilance threshold for RF exposure
FRANCE 19 DEC

French spectrum agency sets higher vigilance threshold for RF exposure

France's spectrum agency ANFR has raised the limit at which radio frequency (RF) exposure measurements are classified as 'atypical' from 6 V/m to 9 V/m. This follows the consultation launched in July to gather stakeholders' views on the proposal. Changing this vigilance threshold level does not affect the maximum RF exposure limits that mobile equipment must comply with, which remain set by current regulations at between 28 V/m and 61 V/m depending on the frequency.

Free Mobile joins Nokia's Network as Code ecosystem for API collaboration
FRANCE 19 DEC

Free Mobile joins Nokia's Network as Code ecosystem for API collaboration

Nokia has announced that its Network as Code platform and developer portal now include Iliad subsidiary Free Mobile as a new partner. The Network as Code initiative enables developers and telecom operators to collaborate under a revenue-sharing model, providing developers with standardised access to network functions through software development kits and network APIs.

Ctitymesh renews Bruges city contract for wireless networks
BELGIUM 19 DEC

Ctitymesh renews Bruges city contract for wireless networks

Citymesh has won another contract from the city of Bruges. For the third time it was awarded the wireless infrastructure deal, and this time Citymesh is the main contractor. The deal runs for up to six years and has a potential value of EUR 50 million.

Deutsche Telekom reports mobile data up 30% in 2025
GERMANY 19 DEC

Deutsche Telekom reports mobile data up 30% in 2025

Deutsche Telekom has recorded nearly 5,000 petabytes of data traffic flowing through its mobile network in Germany in 2025, up 30 percent compared to last year. Telekom said it is now operating 128.000 antennas for its mobile network, including 108,000 providing 5G. Telekom covers 99 percent of the population in Germany with 5G, and 99.6 percent with LTE.

Telefonica Germany accelerates mobile network expansion
GERMANY 19 DEC

Telefonica Germany accelerates mobile network expansion

Telefonica Germany said it is accelerating the expansion of its mobile network in Germany. This year, the company implemented around 8,000 expansion measures, up from the previous record of approximately 7,500 expansion measures recorded last year. Telefonica has built more than 600 new mobile sites this year to further improve coverage and expanded mobile coverage to 150 previously underserved areas. The network now runs on 29,000 mobile sites, and 5G reaches around 99 percent of the population. Telefonica

NTT East demonstrates automated optical path switching for disaster recovery
JAPAN 19 DEC

NTT East demonstrates automated optical path switching for disaster recovery

NTT East, working with NTT and the National Institute of Informatics (NII), has successfully demonstrated a technology that automatically reconfigures optical transmission paths in response to network conditions, enabling traffic to be rerouted within 10 minutes during major disasters. The organisations said the trial is the first to show automated route switching and on-demand addition of optical wavelength paths, including wavelength conversion, based on real-time communication conditions.

KT prepares network for the holiday season
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 19 DEC

KT prepares network for the holiday season

Korea Telecom (KT) announced that it will operate a network intensive management system to ensure stable communication services during the Christmas and New Year's holidays. KT will designate crowded Christmas markets, large performance halls, department stores, and downtown areas, as well as event sites such as year-end bell-ringing ceremonies and New Year's sunrises, and beaches and peaks as special management areas. These locations will be strengthened through increased base station installation and qual

Acceleran and Eridan partner to supply private 5G equipment
EUROPE 18 DEC

Acceleran and Eridan partner to supply private 5G equipment

Private 5G vendor Acceleran and 5G radio supplier Eridan announced plans to market a joint private 5G system combining Eridan's private 5G radio units with Acceleran's fronthaul and midhaul equipment. The agreement pairs Eridan's Ultra-Clean Signal radio unit (RU) and Acceleran's centralised/distributed unit (CU/DU) platform, with full interoperability as both products are designed to meet Open RAN standards. The product will be available globally at some stage, but will initially be marketed toward US and

Ripple Fiber invests USD 60 million to expand into California
UNITED STATES 18 DEC

Ripple Fiber invests USD 60 million to expand into California

Ripple Fiber has announced an investment of more than USD 60 million to expand operations into California. This will be the 10th US state where Ripple operates, initially delivering high-speed fibre broadband services to around 50,000 homes in Kern County. Network construction will start in early-2026 in Bakersfield, before expanded to more cities in nearby counties across Southern California. Ripple expects to launch services for customers in Q1 2026.

TAM-1 cable lands in Costa Rica
COSTA RICA 18 DEC

TAM-1 cable lands in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's state-owned telecom operator ICE announced the arrival of the Trans American Fiber System's TAM-1 submarine cable in the Caribbean port city of Limón. The system, developed in partnership with ICE, is expected to expand Costa Rica's international capacity 23-fold when it begins operations in January 2026.

Yondr completes 12MW of new data centre capacity in Northern Virginia
UNITED STATES 18 DEC

Yondr completes 12MW of new data centre capacity in Northern Virginia

Yondr Group has completed the first ready for service (RFS) milestone for the second building at its 96MW data centre campus in Northern Virginia. It has completed the first 12MW of the new 48MW capacity, with the new asset becoming fully operational in 2026. This comes one year after completing the first 48MW data centre on the campus. 

Vodafone Egypt renews partnership with football star Salah as 5G ambassador
EGYPT 18 DEC

Vodafone Egypt renews partnership with football star Salah as 5G ambassador

Vodafone Egypt has announced the renewal of its partnership with Egyptian and international football star Mohamed Salah, who will continue his role as the company's ambassador for 5G technology. The renewal coincides with the operator's achievement of the widest 5G coverage in Egypt, now spanning more than 3,000 urban areas nationwide, up from around 2,000 since June.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 18 DEC

Du deploys Huawei 25 Gbps E-band microwave technology for 5G-A over 3 years

UAE operator Du has signed a three-year agreement with Huawei following the successful deployment of what is described as the world's first 25 Gbps E-band microwave link in a 5G-Advanced (5G-A) site roll-out. Du legacy links lack the necessary bandwidth to support the increased capacity requirement of 5G-A, particularly in fibre-scarce regions. With the newly deployed 25 Gbps link, Du can address the higher demands of 5G-A, Huawei said.

UNITED STATES 18 DEC

Airspan opens new corporate HQ in Texas

Airspan has officially opened its new corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas. As many as 150 staff will work for the wireless networking vendor from the 25,000 square foot facility, performing a variety of roles including R&D, engineering, customer support, sales and corporate activities.

ZAMBIA 18 DEC

Airtel Zambia launches USD 107 mln scheme to deploy 406 new sites

Airtel Zambia has launched a USD 107 million nationwide network expansion, the largest single-year infrastructure investment by the company, to strengthen coverage, improve service reliability and enhance customer service. It will deploy 406 new network sites altogether, of which 121 are already live and the other 285 due for completion by March 2026. The roll-out combines new coverage areas, capacity expansion in high-demand zones and network resilience enhancements.

ANDORRA 18 DEC

Andorra Telecom launches 5G on 3.5 GHz band

Andorra Telecom said it has substantially expanded the capacity of its 5G network in the country to meet surging data demands with the incorporation of the 3.5 GHz band. As a result, the traffic capacity of each base station has been doubled compared to the maximum available via 4G, with speeds also doubling, latency reduced and performance improved in high-traffic areas.

MIDDLE EAST 18 DEC

Space42 and Cobham Satcom expand range of Thuraya-4 terminals

Space42 and Cobham Satcom said they have extended the range of advanced terminals for the Thuraya-4 Next Generation Satellite (T4-NGS), providing broadband-grade L-band service to users in the government, national security, maritime and commercial sectors. The comprehensive Cobham Satcom terminal portfolio supplies connectivity exceeding 1 Mbps even in contested or remote environments. This follows the start of commercial service on Space42's next-generation mobile communications satellite, Thuraya-4, in No

PHILIPPINES 18 DEC

PLDT, Smart see 34% drop in cable theft incidents in 2025

Philippines operator PLDT and its mobile unit Smart Communications report they have reduced cable and telecommunications equipment theft through an intensified security strategy involving local governments, law enforcement, and community leaders. These collaborative efforts led to a 34 percent decline in apprehension incidents and a 24 percent decrease in the number of apprehended suspects compared in the first eleven months of 2025, compared to the same period in the previous year.

JAPAN 18 DEC

Ericsson deploys 4.5 GHz Massive MIMO radios in NTT Docomo's live 5G network

Ericsson has begun live operation of its AIR 3255 Massive MIMO antenna-integrated radios in the 5G network of NTT Docomo, supporting capacity expansion in high-traffic areas across Japan. The rollout started in December, with the 4.5 GHz-band radios designed to address both current and future increases in mobile data demand. The new radios are being deployed alongside Docomo's existing 3.7 GHz Massive MIMO equipment to improve spectrum efficiency, flexibility and network reliability.

JAPAN 18 DEC

SoftBank provides FWA service with segment routing IPv6 mobile user plane

SoftBank successfully provided limited services that utilise segment routing IPv6 mobile user plane (SRv6 MUP) via fixed wireless access on its 5G commercial network. SRv6 MUP is an affordable and easy-to-set-up technology that takes advantage of 5G features that enable services like multi-access edge computing (MEC) and network slicing. The operator said it has been leading the development of SRv6 MUP, which makes it possible to take advantage of 5G features that enable services such as MEC and network sli

AUSTRALIA 18 DEC

Telstra activates first of 27 new mobile sites in remote South Australia

Telstra has switched on a new mobile base station at Blackford near Kingston, marking the first of 27 planned sites to improve coverage across South Australia's Limestone Coast region. The site forms part of the Australian government's Regional Connectivity Program (RCP) Round 3 and was funded through a co-investment model involving the government, the South Australian government, six local councils, the South Australian Forest Products Association and Telstra.

JAPAN 18 DEC

Kyocera completes private 5G and AI test for wildlife monitoring

Kyocera Mirai Envision has completed an end-to-end connectivity verification linking a private 5G network with an AI-based wildlife monitoring system designed to detect bears, following a joint trial with two technology partners. The test, partnered with with Eyemovic and Core-Support, validated the transmission of live video from IP cameras over a private 5G network to Eyemovic's bear detection service, known as Kumamiru AI. The trial confirmed that bear detection, analysis and alert notifications function

NEW ZEALAND 18 DEC

Kordia to install DAS solution at Te Kaha stadium

BESIX Watpac, which is delivering the stadium, has engaged Kordia to construct a comprehensive Distributed Antenna System (DAS) that will bring mobile networks seamlessly into One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha in Christchurch. Once the stadium opens in 2026, fans will be able to enjoy reliable mobile connectivity when visiting the stadium, even at sell-out concerts where peak crowds can connect to the network at once.

JAPAN 18 DEC

NextNav partners MetCom to deploy 5G-based timing services in Japan

NextNav has announced an expanded strategic and technology partnership with Tokyo-based MetCom to deploy terrestrial timing services using 5G-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) technology in Japan. Under the agreement, MetCom has licensed NextNav's 5G-based 3D PNT technology, including waveform and receiver components, to support the launch of terrestrial timing services in Japan's largest metropolitan areas. The partnership is described as NextNav's first international collaboration built on it

Just In

19 DEC 16:42

SLT-Mobitel launches 5G network in Sri Lanka

19 DEC 16:19

Dialog Axiata launches 5G network, connects 1.5 million subscribers

19 DEC 15:56

UK govt to ban AI-enabled nudification apps to protect women, girls

19 DEC 15:42

3 UK launches last-minute Christmas sale

Commentary

13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

15:26

Stock markets breaking records but what happened to Odido's IPO plans?

Background

01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

01:39

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

13:51

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

14:16

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins