Over half (54 per cent) of the global population – some 4.3 billion people – now owns a smartphone, according to mobile industry trade body the GSMA’s annual State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2023 (SOMIC). Smartphone owners are much more likely to be aware of, and adopt, mobile Internet services, as well as use […]

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is providing an early opportunity for interested third parties to comment on the impact that the proposed merger between mobile telcos Vodafone and Three could have on competition in the UK, in advance of launching a formal investigation once it has received the information it needs from the […]

BT has launched Immersive Spaces for business and public sector organisations across Northern Ireland, creating a 5G-enabled, interactive simulation experience. Launched in partnership with Immersive Interactive, BT Immersive Spaces simulate real-life environments within an internal or external room, or mobile unit. The technology is being showcased in a roadshow, creating interactive immersive experiences and learning […]

Portugal’s government plans to launch an international public tender by the end of the year to bring optical fibre to rural areas without coverage. Announcing the project, the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, said that the investment is expected to exceed €350 million, with half of the cost coming from European funds. The remaining […]

One-in-five 5G smartphone users seeking differentiated 5G service experiences, such as quality of service, for demanding applications are willing to pay communications service providers (CSPs) a premium of up to 11 per cent to enjoy the value-added connectivity, according to research from Ericsson ConsumerLab. The satisfaction and user-loyalty-focused report, 5G Value: Turning Performance into Value, […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has licensed Elon Musk’s Starlink service to test a ‘Direct-to-device’ service. SpaceX will launch the first of a new batch of enabled satellites in December which when fully established will permit users to make calls via Starlink. Apple and Globalstar already have a similar service running, while Omnispace is planning […]

Bharti Airtel’s 5G service now covers all of India and claims a 50 million subscriber base. The 5G service launched just a year ago. Bharti is also a major shareholder in Eutelsat and is promising introduction of OneWeb satellite connectivity will launch this year. Commenting on the milestone, Randeep Sekhon, CTO at Bharti Airtel, said: […]

Adeia, the R&D and intellectual property (IP) licensing company, has announced that Samsung Electronics has entered into a long-term agreement at the end of the third quarter, renewing its licence to Adeia’s media IP portfolio for its mobile devices and related offerings. “Samsung’s leadership in the Android mobile device market has been achieved by an […]

5G isn’t just the fastest-growing generation of wireless cellular technology, it’s on course to become the most widely-adopted, exceeding 4G LTE by over 2.5 billion connections in 2028, according to trade body 5G Americas, and data from Omdia. The last six months has seen the addition of 331 million new 5G connections, pushing the global […]

Trade bodies representing the European telecommunications industry have welcomed the European Commission’s proposal on the Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA) that aims at addressing the red tape and the challenge of slow, complex and costly deployment of Very High Capacity Networks (VHCN) across the European Union. However, while they welcome many of the changes to the […]