Mobile networking

Bharti Airtel, Qualcomm team to advance 5G Open RAN in India

Subcontinent’s premier communication systems provider announces partnership with leading provider of communications chips and chipsets to accelerate the adoption of next-generation networks in India Continue Reading

SES beams high-throughput loopback services to US DoD

Government solutions division of Luxembourg-based satellite operator uses O3b medium earth orbit constellation to deliver mission-critical communications to the edge in Asia Continue Reading

Huawei: Mobile 5G and wireless home broadband set to triple in 2021

Keynote by leading executive predicts booming 5G market set to rise in the next 12 months and reveals first use case for 5G business suite in industrial mobile Continue Reading

Ericsson accelerates 5G mid-band roll-outs with mMIMO, RAN Compute lines

Swedish comms tech provider expands MIMO portfolio and radio access network solutions to enhance network performance with what it claims is optimised energy efficiency and reduced carbon footprint with new mid-band products, including 20kg flagship 64T Massive radio product Continue Reading

5G network densification and mMIMO to drive mobile net spend to US$191bn by 2026

Finding MIMO pivotal to driving massive uptake in cellular infrastructure expenditure over the next five years Continue Reading

Orange aims for pole with Totem on back of ‘solid’ fiscal year

Global telco claims to have defied Covid-19 with solid fiscal year and looks to the future with increased 5G penetration and new mobile tower business. Continue Reading

Nokia wins multi-year 5G radio and core contract with A1 Austria

Central European telco signs further deal with Finnish comms provider to begin commercial implementation of 4G and 5G network slicing following successful pilot Continue Reading

Tech shortfalls erode company culture in mid-size businesses

Nearly half of European office workers feel their company culture has suffered due to coronavirus restrictions, with companies faced with the difficult task of creating a supportive, digital-driven company culture that works for everyone Continue Reading

C Spire taps Amdocs for 5G wireless policy and charging

US telco makes key 5G technology investment to be able to offer what it says will be the ‘most innovative’ 5G customer experience now and in the future Continue Reading

CSPs overlook SMEs as major source of 5G revenue

Study finds communications service providers are failing to recognise the vast potential of the SME arena as a major source of B2B revenue, especially on 5G Continue Reading

NearForm secures investment to fuel rapid international expansion

Creator of contact-tracing app for the island of Ireland, Scotland, the EU and north-eastern US states secures faster cash injection to build better software Continue Reading

Altran, Qualcomm collaborate for 5G NR small cell software

Altran and Qualcomm join forces to expedite development of high-speed, low-latency private and public 5G small cells Continue Reading

BT fibres up UK Covid-19 vaccination centres

As NHS announces that 15 million people have received first dose of Covid-19 vaccine across UK, BT reveals its role in helping health service to achieve milestone by connecting more than 100 vaccination centres to high-speed connectivity and Wi-Fi Continue Reading

Digital investments will add £232bn to UK economy by 2040

The UK economy could grow by £232bn over the next two decades if investments in digital technologies continue Continue Reading

Sun shines on first private cellular campus smart manufacturing network in Greece

Supporting the digital transformation of Greek enterprises, comms tech provider implements connectivity system based on the deployment of a private cellular campus network at solar thermal products provider Continue Reading

Zoom fatigue kicks in as working from home becomes working from phone

Research from leading telecoms operator finds over a third of Brits working from home are increasingly switching to mobile data to stay online in lockdown Continue Reading

Nokia furthers Open RAN push with CPQD partnership

Collaboration between Nokia and CPQD set to explore Open RAN-compliant RIC platform to develop 5G use cases such as fixed wireless access smart cities and Industry 4.0 Continue Reading

Masergy, Cisco construct UCaaS collaboration solution

SD-WAN provider teams with networking and collaboration technology giant to address distributed enterprises’ communications needs Continue Reading

More than $2bn returned to US consumers through mobile device trade-ins in 2020

Market falls back, but old comms devices maintain value in 2020 despite Covid-19, with $786m returned to US consumers in Q4 2020 alone, representing a 38% rise from Q3 for the secondary device market Continue Reading

Massive uptick in collaboration software usage in 2020

US and Europe show differing directions of travel in remote working take-up but leading collaboration systems exhibit four-figure growth since February 2020, with usage levels set to remain high as the new normal of work establishes itself Continue Reading

Verizon Business, Deloitte gain retail edge with 5G

Operator’s 5G and mobile edge compute technology, coupled with IT consultancy’s retail industry and solution engineering experience, aims to improve store operating efficiency and enhance the customer experience Continue Reading

First phase of Shared Rural Network set to bring £187m boost to UK rural businesses

Operator-commissioned study claims first phase of scheme to reduce partial not-spots in the UK could mean rural communities contribute an added £58.9m to UK GDP each year Continue Reading

Companies call for new breed of enterprise network operator for greater IoT control

Survey finds almost half of those controlling decisions on the deployment of internet of things technology and services would like to own a dedicated network in-house Continue Reading

Société Générale adopts work-from-home policy

French bank formalises remote working policy after discussions with labour unions Continue Reading

Vodafone UK adds Digitalk to MVNO portfolio

UK telco taps global mobile virtual network enabler service provider, offering cloud-based real-time communications platforms, to assist in on-boarding partners to virtual network Continue Reading

Sim-swapping crooks targeted celebrities, influencers

Eight arrests have been made in England and Scotland in connection with a series of Sim-swapping attacks targeting high-profile victims Continue Reading

NHS Covid-19 app alerts 1.7 million contacts

More than 1.7 million users asked to isolate by UK app as a result of a close contact since launch, helping to break chains of transmission and prevent the deaths of thousands, says developer Continue Reading

BT claims £24bn value as it enables new customer experience for Walgreens Boots

As it announces role in delivering transformation for pharmacy chain, BT reveals data showing that it employs one in every 12 people in UK’s IT and communications sector Continue Reading

CityFibre lights up Yorkshire cities with gigabit connectivity

Former altnet turned UK’s third national digital infrastructure platform provider announces plan to transform two of the White Rose county’s largest conurbations into digitally connected cities Continue Reading

Telecom Egypt implements IBM hybrid cloud to transform operations

Leading regional telco deploys Cloud Pak for Automation technology to modernise network operations and deliver fast and secure services to clients and looks to IBM Global Business Services to build and manage its datacentre Continue Reading

European cities hit key smart technology milestone with €250m investment

London, Lisbon, Milan, Bordeaux, Burgas and Warsaw trigger investment in smart technologies as part of Sharing Cities programme Continue Reading

Deutsche Telekom taps Nokia for optical transport network modernisation

Global operator signs deal to deploy optical transport portfolio to deliver more automated, higher-capacity network to meet growing demands of residential and Industry 4.0 Continue Reading

Large and small firms accelerate UC technology adoption in response to Covid-19

Large companies showed an increase of nearly 40%, an increased adoption driven by remote working surge caused by the pandemic Continue Reading

Telcos flesh out 5G volumetric use cases

NTT DoCoMo and BT among first telcos to examine the potential of technology that will enable large, high-quality interactive 3D files to be streamed to 5G mobile devices and viewed directly through a browser, along with AR/VR. Continue Reading

CE consortium calls on comms regulator to ignore pleas to delay 6GHz certification

As users’ reliance on wireless devices increases, the US Consumer Technology Association warns FCC to ignore lobbying to pause progress of Wi-Fi 6E equipment certification Continue Reading

RAN returns strong growth but Nokia prepares for challenging year ahead

Comms tech provider claims solid Q4, full year 2020 performance but anticipates “meaningful headwinds” in year of transition Continue Reading

BT counts cost of Covid-19 in third quarter

Fibre and 5G roll-outs continue apace, but trading update reveals trying times for UK incumbent telco, with falling revenues and profits Continue Reading

Ericsson: Dematerialisation is the path to profitability

Comms tech provider’s research finds so-called dematerialised enterprises expect to take advantage of cloud and mobile technology to become more productive and sustainable by 2030 Continue Reading

Broadband speed boost sees UK home values jump by £3,500

UK government survey quantifies added value of access to superfast broadband, which is now said to have pushed broadband speeds up a gear for 5.5 million homes across the country, creating £2.7bn of economic benefits including 17,600 jobs Continue Reading

EE, BT team to ‘redefine’ home broadband with BT Halo 3+

Comms provider and mobile division announce new hybrid connect device, claiming to combine full-fibre home broadband, Wi-Fi and UK’s fastest mobile network Continue Reading

EE 5G mobile usage increases by 40% over last quarter of 2020

Surge in use of next-generation networks for BT-owned mobile service over the festive period with video, especially news, causing spikes Continue Reading

Latency higher priority than speed as IT leaders look to gain edge

Business leaders believe success depends on low latency, namely 10ms or less to ensure the success of their applications, with three-quarters requiring 5ms or less for edge initiatives Continue Reading

Nordic countries dominate European online banking take-up

Nordics dominate online banking take-up in Europe, but the UK is not far behind Continue Reading

Enterprise 5G network slicing to carve out $20bn revenues over next five years

Research highlights dedicated network allocation technique as an enabler for new value creation as communications service providers bolster their capabilities to go beyond connectivity revenues Continue Reading

O2 and NEC claim Open RAN trial success

Leading UK mobile operator teams reveal positive results from open radio access network test with IT and network technologies provider, including virtualised RAN software and hardware from GigaTera Communications, Supermicro among others Continue Reading

Qualcomm ramps up 5G with French research and development centre

Brittany and Paris Region colocated R&D facility set up to boost chip giant as it embarks on next-generation network objectives Continue Reading

5G to the fore as Ericsson beats expectations in financial year

Strong year recorded by comms tech firm from continued high activity levels in North America, Northeast Asia and Europe, with 5G strong Continue Reading

Dell, SK Telecom, VMware bring 5G edge to enterprises

IT giants team with telco to collaborate on an integrated multi-access edge computing system with the aim of providing more secure and reliable access to data at edge locations Continue Reading

Wi-Fi Alliance advances support for Wi-Fi 6E ecosystem

Specification published defining architecture, protocols and functionality for the automated frequency coordination system-to-AFC device interface to maximise the 6 GHz spectrum opportunity and expand Wi-Fi 6E benefits Continue Reading

Telcos accelerate digital transformation but revenues remain store-based

Report reveals operators still rely mainly on physical channels to sell their products and services, but know the value that digital sales can create for them Continue Reading

More than one in six households struggling to afford broadband in UK

With UK lockdown persisting and education online until March at the earliest, research finds broadband customers in receipt of low-income benefits almost twice as likely to struggle to pay their bill than other customers Continue Reading

Smartphone industry roars back in Q4 2020 as iPhone propels Apple to new heights

The past 12 months as a whole may have been challenging for the smartphone industry, but the industry enjoyed an end-of-year renaissance driven by a staggering $66bn worth of iPhone sales Continue Reading

Contactless payment limit could rise to £100 as FCA seeks industry views

UK financial services regulator is considering raising the contactless card payment limit to £100 Continue Reading

UK government reviews law on access to land for digital infrastructure

Reacting to reports that agreements have been slow to conclude, holding up the roll-out of better mobile and broadband connectivity, UK government consults on changes to the legal framework for agreements on access to land for digital infrastructure Continue Reading

UK broadband customers count cost of quietly expired contracts

Almost three million UK high-speed broadband customers – a third of those whose deal ended in the past year – say they were not informed when their contract ended, as mandated by the UK comms regulator, costing around £90 per household Continue Reading

O2, Three, Vodafone team to enhance rural mobile coverage

Three of the UK’s leading mobile operators announce plan to build and share infrastructure to boost 4G rural coverage in the first part of a national scheme to improve mobile connectivity in hard-to-reach places Continue Reading

Global VPN downloads surge in 2020

Repressive regimes’ regulatory demands and remote working see virtual private network usage rocket over the past 12 months Continue Reading

Virtualisation, automation and network slicing increasing operators’ focus

Research reveals added pressure on networks in the post Covid-19 world, with access network performance as the primary factor that most impacts subscriber experience Continue Reading

Barratt enlists UK network leaders to install full-fibre broadband across all new homes

At a time when the country has never been so dependent on fast and reliable home broadband, leading house builder has teamed with UK broadband leaders to ensure new builds are in the digital fast lane Continue Reading

Telia takes Ericsson 5G to transform industrial inspection as Project Reindeer runs

New partnership will benefit Swedish industry by performing livestream industrial inspections via drones, while more details are released on Ericsson’s EU-funded 6G initiative Continue Reading

Virgin to enter UK 5G fray but regulator delays 5G spectrum auction

UK operator marks ‘milestone’ moment in its history with 5G offer to add to gigabit broadband, but Ofcom puts on hold the process to gain mid-band frequencies Continue Reading

Wireless Broadband Alliance rolls out roadmap for 5G, Wi-Fi 6 convergence

New industry guidelines highlight critical role next-generation wireless technology will play in the long-term success of 5G, outlining convergence opportunities for optimising business innovation and customer experience Continue Reading

NEC announces 3x MIMO capacity gain for mmWave 5G CPE

Aiming to contribute to the development of mmWave 5G mobile access networks and building ecosystems among operators and suppliers, tech giant claims landmark achievement Continue Reading

GSMA: mmWave 5G showing signs of market readiness

With 5G roll-outs and adoption progressing quickly and with the mmWave ecosystem showing signs of readiness, the main question the mobile industry faces is where and when mmWave systems can be cost-effective Continue Reading

Vodafone unveils ‘instant’ Wi-Fi

Telco targets digital households and small businesses with new mobile router for use cases including support for video calling, streaming and online learning Continue Reading

BT connects Dutch diplomatic missions

New software-defined network services designed to enable secure collaboration and support digital transformation of network supporting Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs Continue Reading

Next-gen network roll-outs drive 5G FWA broadband CPE market

Continued momentum revealed for fixed wireless access as analyst sees such services using 5G technology capable of supporting gigabit speeds, creating huge potential to compete with existing fixed broadband services Continue Reading

Optus taps Nokia for 5G tech to enhance stadium experiences

With crowds slowly returning to outdoor venues in Australia after lockdown, comms tech provider and leading local operator deliver gigabit wireless in-stadium connectivity Continue Reading

Nokia, Mobily unveil world’s first sliced FWA deployment

Global comms tech provider teams with Saudi Arabian telco to pilot world’s first 4G and 5G fixed wireless access network slicing on a live commercial network Continue Reading

European telecoms big guns team up to drive Open RAN deployments

Major regional operators embark upon collaboration to provide a framework for the creation of an interoperable market for Open RAN Continue Reading

Few workers see employers as ready for new normal

Study finds vast majority of workers feel employers are not fully prepared to support the longer-term move to a hybrid workforce, prompting a need for organisations to plan their ‘future workplace’ better Continue Reading

Broadcast, media sector presents telcos with digital transformation opportunities

Analyst sets out potential winning strategy for telcos in entertainment sector with 5G, multi-access edge computing and network slicing, as well as virtualisation and cloud Continue Reading

Five not the only magic number for Three in 2021

With a new CEO beginning to put into practice its plan, mainly a pivot towards business, mobile operator Three UK has been eyeing up new opportunities in 2021. We see what is on the agenda Continue Reading

Mavenir, VIAVI enter into collaboration to validate 5G RAN options for US market

Partnership will focus on lab testing of cloud-native radio access systems for major US mobile network operators Continue Reading

Legacy security architectures threaten to disrupt remote working

Annual survey of IT leaders finds network security is of prime concern as most companies continue with work-from-home policies Continue Reading

AE Aerospace claims 5G landmark in transforming manufacturing productivity

Leading UK manufacturing business and partners trial 5G to pioneer productivity improvements and drive recovery in key sector hit hard by Covid Continue Reading

Three UK, Tata team to accelerate 5G network roll-out

IT services, consulting and business solutions provider employed to help UK operator configure and maintain its next-generation mobile network and ensure first time right network operations Continue Reading

Private LTE/5G market set to reach £4.2bn in 2024

Research firm predicts sales of private LTE/5G infrastructure to show 43% CAGR from 2019 to 2024, potentially worth an estimated $5.7bn (£4.2bn) Continue Reading

Google Cloud, Nokia accelerate readiness for cloud-native enterprise 5G solutions

Cloud platform provider and comms tech supplier announce plans to jointly develop cloud-native 5G core solutions for communications service providers and enterprise customers with cloud capabilities to the network edge to accelerate enterprise digital transformation Continue Reading

BT cries foul on rivals’ coverage claims as O2, EE extend UK 5G nets

Two of the UK’s mobile giants make significant additions to next-gen networks, but BT consumer CEO warns that rivals are not giving customers meaningful levels of coverage and quality in their 5G offers Continue Reading

Port of Felixstowe lands funding for UK government 5G trial

UK’s largest and busiest container port to test the potential of 5G across two use cases: enabling remotely controlled cranes and optimising predictive maintenance though IoT and AI Continue Reading

Yearly expectations smashed with £105bn spent on mobile apps in 2020

With the world of work changed forever due to the Covid-19 pandemic, mobile apps cash in, with consumer spend increasing 20% annually with business apps showing particular spike in usage Continue Reading

EE 5G to deliver BBC Green Planet augmented reality experience

Increased 5G network capacity will enable AR experience for landmark BBC series using holographic video to explore the world from the perspective of plants Continue Reading

BT eyes up next-gen services with digital unit

In what it says is an important statement of intent following a 2020 with a number of innovations, incumbent telco announces new division designed to deliver next-gen digital platforms and services Continue Reading

Virgin Media aims for in-home connectivity transformation with Intelligent WiFi Plus

As it ramps up gigabit network development in locations across the UK, cableco launches Wi-Fi access devices to work with new access system to bring up to three times faster in-home wireless speeds Continue Reading

BT removes mobile data charges for BBC Bitesize educational content

As part of a broader partnership between the UK’s public broadcaster and its incumbent telco, hugely popular and award-winning BBC Bitesize programming slot is to be zero rate for all EE, BT Mobile and PlusNet Mobile customers Continue Reading

Used smartphone sales to dial in near double-digit growth in 2020

Research shows refurbished and used devices continue to provide cost-effective alternatives for businesses looking to save money when buying a smartphone Continue Reading

BT offers unlimited data for remote learning

UK incumbent telco joins campaign to make sure disadvantaged children can get connected as Covid-19 lockdown closes schools and other educational establishments Continue Reading

Qualcomm appoints new CEO

Claiming validation of its business model and leadership in 5G, the communications chip giant appoints successor to retiring chief executive with brief to drive value Continue Reading

Viasat checks in with Delta to boost in-air connectivity

US airline adds next-generation Ka-band satellite technology to mainline fleet to help modernise how passengers stay connected and enjoy content during travel Continue Reading

Operators join UK government’s kids’ mobile access scheme

UK mobile operators join scheme to help families that need access to connectivity to support their child’s learning needs during the latest lockdown, while BCS calls for free mobile access to education sites Continue Reading

Ooredoo Group expands Ericsson 5G tech agreement

New agreement promises new functionalities with faster time-to-market and enhancements to the digital experience for people, enterprises and industries across operating companies in 10 countries Continue Reading

Qualcomm expands 5G capabilities of Snapdragon 480 mobile devices

Enhanced mobile platform line claimed to be able to accelerate global 5G commercialisation and deliver ‘series-defying’ features to mass-volume smartphone segment Continue Reading

Ericsson to power DTAC 5G network in Thailand

Almost half of Thailand’s 70 million population to be served by a new 5G radio access network from leading local communications service provider DTAC Continue Reading

Top 10 networking stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 networking stories of 2020 Continue Reading

Top 10 telecoms and mobile stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 telecoms and mobile stories of 2020 Continue Reading

5G coverage set to reach over half of global population by 2025

Despite 5G deployment still facing various challenges, operators are making progress in addressing major issues Continue Reading

Cisco reveals intention to acquire Dashbase

Networking tech and services giant gets out the corporate chequebook for the third time in a matter of weeks to buy customer experience and analytics software provider Continue Reading

UK parliamentary committee slams government broadband targets as unrealistic

Report highlights missed targets and overpromising in gigabit infrastructure roll-out and urges government and national regulator to take bolder, faster action to address the causes of costs and delays Continue Reading

Viasat announces $222m RigNet acquisition

Global communications company unveils plans to expand and diversify commercial connectivity portfolio, with purchase of intelligent networking solutions firm to add complementary technology Continue Reading