UK fibre altnets reach 19.7 million premises at end-2025
UNITED KINGDOM 16:10

UK fibre altnets reach 19.7 million premises at end-2025

The fibre network coverage of UK altnets reached 19.7 million premises by end-2025, up 20 percent year-on-year, according to the latest annual report from the Independent Networks Cooperative Association (INCA). The report was prepared for INCA by Point Topic and Assembly Research. The number of altnet fibre premises in Ofcom's Area 3 increased by 20 percent to 4.4 million, with altnets now having delivered full-fibre connectivity to 46 percent of UK premises in harder-to-reach rural areas.

Freedom Telecom International and Nokia sign strategic cooperation agreement
KAZAKHSTAN 16:09

Freedom Telecom International and Nokia sign strategic cooperation agreement

Freedom Telecom International (FTI) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Nokia. As a first step, Freedom Telecom International and Freedom Lifestyle Group will inaugurate an Innovation Lab at Nokia's Sunnyvale, California campus in the coming months. The initial focus of the cooperation is on designing next-generation AI data centre blueprints, conducting feasibility studies in Kazakhstan and neighboring markets, and leveraging Nokia's global ecosystem to scale cloud and AI-driven services.

Benchmark Telecom introduces Ranger XL mobile mast for temporary coverage
BELGIUM 15:33

Benchmark Telecom introduces Ranger XL mobile mast for temporary coverage

Belgium-based Benchmark Telecom introduced the new mobile transmitter Ranger XL for temporary network capacity. The telescopic mast can reach a height of 30m and be operational in 30 minutes. It's aimed at events such as festivals and outdoor sports as well as emergency situations. 

Pairpoint, Lantronix announce industrial IoT quantum security partnership
GLOBAL 15:08

Pairpoint, Lantronix announce industrial IoT quantum security partnership

Pairpoint, post-quantum cybersecurity JV between Vodafone and Sumitomo, and Lantronix, global provider of compute and IoT connectivity solutions, have teamed up to integrate post-quantum security with Lantronix Industrial IoT hardware. The partnership was announced at MWC 2026 in Barcelona. It will integrate encrypted communications and post-quantum cryptography with industrial-grade connectivity on various Lantronix edge platforms - including the NTC-502, NTC-222, E210, G520 and FOX4 industrial IoT routers

Airtel Zambia brings 9 rural tower sites on stream
ZAMBIA 14:47

Airtel Zambia brings 9 rural tower sites on stream

Airtel Zambia says it has activated nine new high-tech tower sites in areas that previously had no Airtel network coverage. They are part of its USD 107 million network expansion programme, which is on track to roll out 406 new sites by the end of March. The new sites are located in rural communities, growth centres and learning institutions.

Telekom Slovenije, Kontron prepare for NG eCall plugtest in Ljubljana
SLOVENIA 14:28

Telekom Slovenije, Kontron prepare for NG eCall plugtest in Ljubljana

Telekom Slovenije and Kontron Europe announced their joint support for the upcoming NG eCall 2026 plugtests organised by the ETSI in Ljubljana. These tests will work on ensuring interoperability of the next-generation emergency call system for vehicles in Europe. Telekom is hosting the event and providing a dedicated 4G/5G test network environment with technical and operational support from Kontron and Sintesio.

De-Cix Mexico tops 200 Gbps peak traffic, nears 30 connected networks
MEXICO 14:15

De-Cix Mexico tops 200 Gbps peak traffic, nears 30 connected networks

De-Cix Mexico said it has become the country's second-largest internet exchange around a year after its official launch, reaching nearly 200 Gbps of peak traffic and connecting close to 30 networks. The exchange, operating across five data centres in Mexico City and Queretaro, has seen a 260 percent increase in traffic during the first months of 2026, driven by strong market demand.

Ekinops aims to restore sales growth in FY26 on new SASE, DCI products
FRANCE 13:44

Ekinops aims to restore sales growth in FY26 on new SASE, DCI products

Ekinops is targeting a return to single-figure sales growth in FY26 fuelled by initial deliveries of new data centre interconnect and SASE products, but says substantial spends planned for this year will weigh on its EBITDA margins and profitability. The company is reaffirming medium-term projections under its Bridge strategic roadmap, aiming to generate sales growth in double figures with a much higher revenue proportion, above 30 percent, coming from software and services. FY 2025 sales were impacted by d

Antevia, Benetel deliver validated outdoor private 5G solution
EUROPE 12:32

Antevia, Benetel deliver validated outdoor private 5G solution

Antevia Networks, UK-based provider of in-building wireless communications solutions, has partnered with Irish radio maker Benetel to provide a jointly-validated outdoor private 5G solution. The partners have completed integration testing between Antevia's 5G Shift private network platform and Benetel's outdoor, carrier-grade O-RAN radio units. The joint solution will help accelerate deployment and simplify procurement of outdoor private 5G networks.

Openreach fibre cables help detect water leaks in UK trial
UNITED KINGDOM 12:22

Openreach fibre cables help detect water leaks in UK trial

Openreach has helped prevent the loss of around 2 megalitres of water in a trial with UK start-up Lightsonic and Affinity Water. The trial is testing a fibre-optic leak-detection system, which turns Openreach broadband cables into virtual sensors. The Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) system has detected more than 100 water leaks in three months, saving 2 million litres of water a day. It uses existing fibre cables and machine learning technology to 'listen' for leaks in nearby water pipes, with problems p

Belgium relaxes limits on indoor small cells in 3.4-3.8 GHz band
BELGIUM 09:46

Belgium relaxes limits on indoor small cells in 3.4-3.8 GHz band

Belgian regulator BIPT has relaxed the limits on small indoor base stations in the 3.4-3.8 GHz band. The maximum signal for non-AAS systems can now reach -34 dBm/MHz per antenna, compared to -50 dBm previously. The agency said this should support the development of more indoor mobile infrastructure for better coverage, and is line with recommendations from the European telecom authorities association CEPT.

Ooredoo Algeria extends 5G to every province
ALGERIA 08:59

Ooredoo Algeria extends 5G to every province

Ooredoo Algerie says it has extended 5G coverage to all of the country's 58 provinces (wilayas), becoming the first mobile operator to achieve nationwide 5G coverage, APS reported. CEO Roni Tohma said the network increase its number of stations to ensure optimal coverage and service quality in line with international standards in every region. Tohman said such coverage will exceed the number of provinces required by the 5G deployment specifications in the very first year.

AFRICA 08:42

Helios Towers FY net profit rises 46% as revenue grows 8%

Helios Towers said its net profit increased 46 percent from USD 27.0 million to USD 39.4 million in the year ended December 2025, reflecting higher operating profit and USD 54.9 million lower finance costs, largely offset by movements in deferred tax assets. Revenue increased by 8 percent to USD 854.1 million while adjusted EBITDA went up by 12 percent to USD 471.1 million, driven by record tenancy growth, as all major mobile network operators continue to expand coverage and meet growing data demand across

JAPAN 06:20

Japan consults on rules for telecom tower infrastructure providers

Japan's ministry of internal affairs and communications (MIC) has launched a public consultation on draft regulations linked to amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act and the NTT Act, including provisions establishing a certification framework for companies that provide telecom tower infrastructure. The consultation, open from 13 March to 13 April 2026, covers draft cabinet orders and ministerial ordinances required to implement the revised legislation, which was enacted in May 2025.

GLOBAL 05:50

Optical interconnects set to expand in AI data centres - TrendForce

Optical interconnect technologies are expected to play an increasing role in AI infrastructure as data centre clusters grow larger and demand higher bandwidth, according to research from TrendForce. Next-generation AI computing architectures, including those being developed by Nvidia, are placing greater emphasis on high-density chip-to-chip connectivity and faster data transmission. These requirements are influencing both intra-rack interconnects and large-scale links between racks in AI data centres.

UNITED KINGDOM 11 MRT

London Fibre Group seeks code powers for new wholesale network

UK regulator Ofcom is consulting on plans to apply electronic communications code powers to London Fibre Group. The consultation closes on 13 April 2026. London Fibre Group is seeking code powers to support the design, deployment and operation of passive communications infrastructure, including dark fibre and shared duct infrastructure. This will be made available to other communications providers to expand their networks across the UK.

CHINA 11 MRT

ZTE intros 5G telecoms service agent

ZTE has unveiled a service AI agent tailored to personalised customer experiences in 5G networks. The platform integrates with AI-capable 5G core networks using ZTE's system architecture and a Model Context Protocol server, and is then able to implement OSS scenarios in real time for service assurance purposes, orchestrating 5G and 5G-A network resources in response to instructions issued in human language. ZTE said the product would underpin an "Experience as a Service" business model to help 5G operators

GLOBAL 11 MRT

Keysight targets AI fabric growth with new 1.6 Gbps Ethernet traffic emulation device

Keysight Technologies announced the launch of AresONE 1600GE, an Ethernet traffic emulation device that scales up to 1.6 Tbps ports to simulate AI data centre fabrics.  AresONE 1600GE is used to validate next-generation AI fabrics operating with 224G SerDes electrical lanes, supporting transitions to higher data rates and increased switch radix driven by 1.6 Tbps and 800G Ethernet ports in both scale-up and scale-out AI infrastructures.

GLOBAL 11 MRT

Viavi launches AI-enhanced DAS test head for fibre cables

Viavi Solutions is launching an AI-enabled fibre test head for distributed acoustic sensing (FTH-DAS) as part of its Nitro fibre sensing platform. Viavi's FTH-DAS interrogator unit enables true-phase fault identification and predictions powered by an embedded AI and machine learning engine, tailored to multi-event detection and real-time classification across multiple fibres directly from the device.

GLOBAL 11 MRT

Global broadband access equipment revenue rises 2% in Q4 - Dell'Oro

Global broadband access equipment revenue reached USD 4.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 7 percent sequentially and 2 percent year on year, according to Dell'Oro Group's 'Broadband Access and Home Networking' quarterly report. The spending acceleration in Q4 was not enough to push 2025 into positive year-on-year growth but Dell'Oro says it was an early sign that 2026 should be strong. VP Jeff Heynen said 2025 was the last of three years of reduced operator spending, as service providers prioritis

GLOBAL 11 MRT

Ciena to present Vesta 200 optical engine at OFC 2026

Ciena will attend the Optical Fiber Communication 2026 conference in Los Angeles, taking the opportunity to showcase its 6.4 Tbps Vesta 200 pluggable driven by co-packaged optics. Ciena will discuss benefits to the industry arising from its 1600ZR/ZR+ and hyper-rail photonic product line-ups.

GLOBAL 11 MRT

Huawei eKit adds 2.5 Gbps PON bundle targeting small and medium-sized enterprises

Huawei's ICT enablement suite for small and medium-sized enterprises, Huawei eKit, is adding a bundle of small-scale fibre-to-the-office (FTTO) products to its offering. It pairs Huawei's F1001 GS-PON optical gateway for symmetrical 2.5 Gbps bandwidth with a multi-mode optical access point, the AP F610D, merging Wi-Fi internet access, telephone and IPTV services into a single fibre connection. Also included is Huawei's StreamerKit F700C platform for accelerated live streaming and AI-powered access point han

UZBEKISTAN 11 MRT

Uztelecom upgrades over 700 base stations in 2 months

Uzbekistan national operator Uztelecom upgraded more than 700 base stations across the country within the last two months. The base stations have been transferred to either LTE or 5G standards. The operator said it also deployed more than 100 new base stations. Uztelecom implements the Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology on its network, and also expands the coverage of the VoLTE service. The upgrade of the infrastructure has already been completed in the Bukhara, Khorezm, Navoyi and Samarkand regions,

ISRAEL 11 MRT

Yes selects Synamedia Iris to deliver addressable advertising

Video software provider Synamedia announced that Yes, the pay-TV subsidiary of Bezeq Israel, has selected Synamedia Iris to deliver advanced advertising capabilities. This deployment will enable Yes to expand its services with addressable advertising, further monetising its content.

Just In

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AstroBiz launches BizOne Rewards campaign for food and beverage outlets

16:25

F&W Networks provides High Wycombe library with full-fibre connection

16:19

Lifecell reaches 29% of voice traffic over LTE network

16:19

UK govt announces new schemes to help females enter tech industry

Commentary

11 FEB 12:29

Odido shareholders face tricky exit after abandoned IPO

2 FEB 13:49

KPN results show little bother from the competition

2 JAN 13:21

Open Dutch Fiber's new management team takes up turnaround challenge

15 DEC 2025 13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

Background

6 MRT 16:00

The week in telecom: MWC brings 5G advances, AI and satellite integration, plus first robot phone

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