FCC greenlights EchoStar’s $40bn spectrum sale to SpaceX, AT&T | Total Telecom

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News

The approval will provide EchoStar with a much needed windfall

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Space Bureau have granted approval to EchoStar to sell its spectrum to SpaceX and AT&T.

EchoStar agreed to sell 50MHz of spectrum in the 3.45GHz and 600MHz bands to AT&T for around $23 billion in August last year. This was followed in a month later by a $17 billion sale of 65MHz of AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licences to SpaceX.

AT&T, which is already using the spectrum in question to improve its network performance for mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA) customers under a licencing deal with EchoStar, will be required to accelerate its 600MHz network deployment.

SpaceX, on the other hand, has received FCC waivers that would allow it to use the spectrum for terrestrial, space-based, or hybrid services.

EchoStar’s spectrum saga, perhaps confusingly, has its origins in the 2020 merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

As part of the deal’s regulatory conditions, EchoStar’s sister company Dish Mobile agreed to buy Sprint’s mobile virtual network operator Boost Mobile, pledging to become the fourth national mobile operator (MVNO). It soon became clear, however, that this was merely a pipe dream, with Dish failing to build the required network infrastructure and struggling under substantial debt.

Ultimately, this led to EchoStar merging with Dish in 2023, with the move largely seen as an attempt to balance the books for both companies. EchoStar was thus left with a large tranche of spectrum that it would struggle to use.

The spectrum sale, therefore, represents a significant financial lifeline for EchoStar. In September, EchoStar said it expects to hold around $24.1 billion in total cash after the deal, which it will use to repay debt.

Following the deal, EchoStar will still offer mobile services to customers via a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement with AT&T.

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Beyond the Cable: How ISPs can better monetize networks | Total Telecom

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Podcasts

Robin Olds of Cisco Systems says ISPs need to think about different ways they can monetize networks. Here are some of his ideas

By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

Service providers should begin offering tiered levels of service to customers based on quality of service, according to Robin Olds, a senior business development manager at ⁠Cisco Systems⁠.

Speaking on our ⁠Beyond the Cable⁠ podcast at ⁠Connected America⁠, Olds said service providers could be doing a lot more, like offering network slicing and also lanes of performance traffic across their network that they can monetize.

He elaborated on that, pointing to current ISP pricing structures that are largely based on bandwidth speeds.

“Latency, jitter, packet loss, these are all things that they need to consider,” he said. “Additionally, they need to consider offering AI edge services to their enterprise accounts.”

At this moment, as federal dollars are pushing forward network development, Olds said it’s also a critical time for ISPs to think about what’s next.

Hear our interview with Robin Olds of Cisco Systems on Apple Podcasts

“Today the networks are all about connecting people,” he said, noting that networks of tomorrow will really be about connecting intelligence.

Moreover, he said he firmly believes AI has a serious role to play in the future of connectivity.

“Service providers are the first to really be able to roll that out to a lot of their consumers, and subscribers, and enterprise accounts,” he said.

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TELUS and L-SPARK give Canadian startups access to AI supercomputer
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VMO2’s outlines new ‘Responsible Business Plan’ | Total Telecom

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The updated ESG strategy involves building greener networks and tackling digital exclusion

This week, Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has revealed its ‘Responsible Business Plan’, its ESG blueprint for the next half of the decade.

Much of this strategy is a continuation or amplification of existing initiatives that were central to the 2022–2025 ESG strategy, the Better Connections Plan, which focussed on progressing towards a zero-carbon future, a circular economy, connected communities, and ‘a better way to do business’.

The updated Responsible Business Plan has distilled this into a snappier quartet: climate, connection, control, and circularity.

For ‘climate’, VMO2 is reiterating its goal of Scope 3 net zero carbon emissions goal for 2040, which will largely be achieved by using clean energy and building more efficient networks.

For ‘connection’, the company says it will support 500,000 low-income households to stay connected by 2030 via its low-cost social tariffs and data and device partnerships with the charities Good Things Foundation and Hubbub. It ill

For ‘control’, VMO2 says it will provide a range of tools to help keep families safe online, as well as “doubling down” on fraud prevention and security measures. A dedicated digital wellbeing strategy is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Finally, for ‘circularity’, VMO2 is aiming to double both the number of people recycling unwanted devices and those buying refurbished devices by 2030. The operator also says it is preparing to “champion a device reuse culture in 30 cities by 2030”, including supporting partner programmes.

“Our Responsible Business Plan is more than a strategy – it’s how we do business. It’s built into every decision we make, how we treat our customers and employees, and the products and services we provide to people across the country,” said Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2. “Whether it’s cutting carbon and working towards net zero, helping even more low-income households stay connected, or giving technology a second life – Virgin Media O2 is committed to being a trusted business and a force for good in people’s lives.”

In short, the new strategy largely appears to be more of the same from VMO2, but that is no bad thing.

The previous Better Connections Plan delivered significant results, including cutting Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 63% against its 2020 baseline, recycling more than four million devices, and helping connect more than one million people experiencing digital exclusion.

Let’s hope the Responsible Business Plan achieves even more.

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Via Africa: Consortium announces new subsea cable project | Total Telecom

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clear blue body of water

Press Release

Investors including Canalink, GUILAB, International Mauritania Telecom, Orange Group, Orange Côte d’Ivoire, Sonatel, Silverlinks, announce the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate the Via Africa submarine cable project, confirming a shared ambition to develop international connectivity, to support traffic growth and to strengthen the resilience of networks across the African continent.

This brand-new system aims to connect Europe to South Africa — including landing points in the United Kingdom, France and Portugal — with destinations along the Atlantic coastline such as the Canary Islands, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, with extensions further south supporting increased connectivity diversity and improved resilience for countries along the route.

A consortium-based subsea infrastructure

The Via Africa system is managed as a consortium, enabling participating partners seeking autonomy and sovereignty to co-invest in the infrastructure and take part in its governance. This robust and proven model allows investors to participate directly in the decisions regarding the design, deployment and exploitation of the system and contribute to decisions that best meet their needs. The initial telco and digital player partners are open to additional partners potentially joining the project in the future.

Enhancing resilience and connectivity diversity across Africa

The new open cable project is designed to contribute to greater diversity and resilience of international connectivity serving Africa, by providing a different subsea route than existing infrastructure and strengthening the robustness of regional connectivity.

Next steps for the project

As part of the initial phase of the project, consortium members will jointly finance a cable route study to identify the optimal cable route that balances resilience, technical feasibility and overall economic efficiency.

In parallel, the consortium is preparing the procurement process for selecting a cable supplier, marking the next step in the development of the system.

The submarine cable industry is evolving rapidly. Join the discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA, the world’s most important subsea cable event

The post Via Africa: Consortium announces new subsea cable project appeared first on Total Telecom.

BT launches enterprise voice control service UC Edge | Total Telecom

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BT logo

Press Release

New single voice communication layer reduces complexity and costs for multinational organisations as they evolve their AI-powered workplace collaboration strategies.
BT International today announced the launch of UC Edge, a new managed service that gives multinational organisations’ CIOs a simpler, more flexible solution to manage their rapidly evolving AI-powered workplace collaboration strategies.
Many multinational organisations rely on a patchwork of collaboration solutions inherited through mergers and acquisitions or selected to meet different regional business needs, including sovereignty — be that data sovereignty, operational sovereignty or technical sovereignty. This mix of technologies can slow down transformation, increase costs and leave IT teams wrestling with complex, overlapping systems.
Now live, with initial customer deployments in highly regulated industries, UC Edge cuts through all of that. It lets organisations add or change AI-powered collaboration solutions and platforms quickly without restarting procurement or rebuilding compliant voice services.
An expansion of BT International’s Global Voice platform, it brings voice, collaboration and number management into one, vendor agnostic service. It works seamlessly across collaboration platforms, contact centre solutions and SIP services. IT teams can tailor the experience for each user, team or country while managing all their collaboration services through a single model.
Built as a single global communication layer, UC Edge’s intelligent voice routing automatically directs calls to the correct platform — no manual number alignment, no portal changes, no routing requests. IT teams can also move users between platforms with zero disruption and far less operational effort.
Denise Lund, IDC Research vice president worldwide UC&C and telecom, said: “As multinational organisations modernise their communications, they increasingly demand the flexibility to adopt best-of-breed and vendor-agnostic collaboration solutions that align with diverse business and regulatory needs. BT International’s UC Edge empowers enterprises to seamlessly integrate and manage multiple platforms, reducing complexity while enabling choice and agility.”
Matt Swinden, managing director of strategy & product at BT International, said: “Many multinationals are juggling legacy collaboration platforms, regional needs or simple user preference. With UC Edge, customers get one contract, one commercial model and one global product delivered seamlessly — giving them the freedom to use the platforms they want without the integration burden. So, when users ask: ‘Can we talk?’ the answer will always be ‘Yes!’”

The post BT launches enterprise voice control service UC Edge appeared first on Total Telecom.

US moves closer to banning some foreign-made phones | Total Telecom

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News

The FCC is moving closer to banning the recognition of device testing labs and certification bodies in foreign nations without reciprocity agreements.

By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

New rules being considered by the Federal Communications Commission could have big impacts on the future of electronic devices in the United States.

Under one of the rules, the FCC is considering banning the recognition of device testing labs in nations without a reciprocal trade agreement, an announcement from the agency said last month.

Labs not in compliance with the proposed rules would be phased out within two years if the rules are eventually adopted, the FCC said.

Conversely, the FCC also adopted rules that streamline the approval process for devices testing in U.S. labs or in nations with signed mutual trade agreements.

“The order would also adopt a range of other measures to promote the integrity of the equipment authorization system: require the disclosure of the location and number of employees engaged in FCC-recognized testing, improve the FCC’s post-market surveillance procedures, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and establish confidential reporting channels for industry participants to raise concerns about violations or national security threats,” the FCC said.

The moves build upon the FCC’s efforts in March, when the agency placed foreign made routers on the FCC’s list of products deemed to pose unacceptable security risks.

Since adopting that rule, the FCC has since taken action to withdraw or deny recognition to, twenty-three facilities deemed “bad labs” by the agency, according to the FCC’s April 30 release.

At the time, the move was billed as in line with President Donald Trump’s strategy for national security, announced in 2025.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is due to visit China this week, with published reports saying he is set to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday.

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Billionaire Xavier Niel offloads Proximus stake | Total Telecom

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News

Niel has reduced his holding in the company to less than 0.1%

French billionaire Xavier Niel, owner of Iliad Group, has sold his roughly 6% stake in Belgian telco Proximus, according to a recent filing.

Assuming Proximus’s recent share price of €6.56, the deal would have netted Niel around €135 million.

Niel acquired his roughly 6% stake in the business in late 2023 via his Irish holding company Carraun, praising the operator’s networks and competitive positioning.

By 2025, reports suggested that Niel had proposed a shared ownership model with the Belgian government – Proximus’s largest stakeholder with around 53% ownership. According to those reports, this deal would have seen the government retain the chairmanship of the board, with Niel appointed CEO and given the possibility of increasing his stake in future.

The deal was ultimately rejected by the state, which was likely viewed the deal as something of a soft takeover.

For years, Niel had previously made no secrets of his ambitions to launch his challenger brand Free in the Belgium market, one of the most expensive telecoms markets in Europe. Responding to a 2024 post on X bemoaning the country’s high prices, Niel said he was all for it, saying “it’s your government that doesn’t want it” (translated).

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”fr” dir=”ltr”>Moi je suis chaud, c’est votre gouvernement qui veut pas <a href=”https://t.co/iwJ2QbXuhR”>https://t.co/iwJ2QbXuhR</a></p>&mdash; Xavier Niel (@Xavier75) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Xavier75/status/1979549525816594492?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js&#8221; charset=”utf-8″></script>

Now, with the Belgian government’s attitude seemingly unchanged, Niel has decided to turn his attention elsewhere. One such location is surely Chile, where Niel’s NJJ Holding teamed up with Millicom to purchase Telefónica’s local unit earlier in the year.

With Brussels unwilling to loosen its grip on the former incumbent, Niel appears to have concluded that Belgium’s telecom market remains easier to complain about than to crack.

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The post Billionaire Xavier Niel offloads Proximus stake appeared first on Total Telecom.

This German company is taking lessons learned to US MDUs | Total Telecom

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Podcasts

Christian Breidenbach-Kaack, CEO of agnoss, says his company learned key lessons in Europe that can save American MDU owners big frustration.

By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

With a playbook adapted for an efficient rollout in the US market, agnoss CEO Christian Breidenbach-Kaack says the level of services agnoss can offer to multi-dwelling units offers clear advantages as a one-stop shop for network design, construction, operation, and maintenance.

The company, which has roots in Germany, is known worldwide for developing fully integrated problem solutions. Additionally, the company’s name is a play on words, short for “agnostic networks,” according to their company website.

Speaking on Beyond the Cable, a Broadband Communities podcast, at Connected America last month, Breidenbach-Kaack said some of the lessons they’ve learned from Europe can help provide return on investment for fiber-to-the-unit.

With fiber-to-the-unit deployments, Breidenbach-Kaack said communication can’t be understated in its importance.

“What we do is we invite the residents to see how the fiber’s been deployed to their unit,” he said.

Additionally, he said education of residents can help stakeholders understand the fiber deployment process from beginning to end.

Breidenbach-Kaack said in the past agnoss has hosted demonstrations for residents, to show them where the fiber is deployed in a multi-dwelling unit, also known as an MDU.

He says it’s part of agnoss’s gained experience over the years.

“We went through all the mistakes at the beginning and now we are able to adapt our playbook from Europe to the United States,” he said.

He also highlighted the company’s one-stop-shop mindset for their clients.

“We do the network design, we do the permitting, we do the installation, and later on we are offering the maintenance of a network,” he said, before speaking about the company’s current work with managed Wi-Fi.

Listen to the full interview with Breidenbach-Kaack on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

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Sparkle Signs MoU with NaiTel and iLevant to Build a New Digital Corridor Connecting Europe with Asia | Total Telecom

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Rome, 14th of May 2026

Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NaiTel, the telecom arm of Aqaba Digital Hub, and iLevant Ltd, to extend the GreenMed submarine cable system through the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, supporting the development of a new digital connectivity corridor linking Europe and Asia.

Under the agreement, the parties will work to integrate the GreenMed subsea with terrestrial fiber networks and regional interconnection platforms in Jordan, strengthening connectivity resilience across the Mediterranean and supporting the development of diversified digital infrastructure connecting Europe and Asia.

Jordan, through Aqaba Digital Hub, already serves as a landing point for the BlueMed and the Blue & Raman submarine cable systems, further reinforcing its role as a strategic terrestrial gateway on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

Eyad Abu Khorma, Founder and CEO of Aqaba Digital Hub, said: “Jordan is uniquely positioned at the intersection of major global connectivity routes linking Europe and Asia. The extension of GreenMed toward Jordan represents a natural next step in strengthening diversified and resilient digital infrastructure across the region. We are pleased to continue our collaboration with Sparkle, a leading global operator, on advancing a new digital corridor that integrates subsea and terrestrial networks, further reinforcing Jordan’s role as a strategic gateway connecting Europe, the Middle East and Asia.”

Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle, commented: “This agreement marks a further milestone in the development of GreenMed and confirms the strength of our long-standing collaboration with NaiTel and iLevant. Expanding the system across Jordan enables the connection of strategic digital ecosystems and fosters new development opportunities across the Mediterranean region and beyond.”

GreenMed has received funding from the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme.

 

About Sparkle

Sparkle is TIM Group’s global operator, first international service provider in Italy and among the top worldwide, offering a full range of infrastructure and global connectivity services – capacity, IP, SD-WAN, colocation, IoT connectivity, roaming and voice – to national and international Carriers, OTTs, ISPs, Media/Content Providers, and multinational enterprises. As a leading player in the submarine cable industry, Sparkle owns and manages a network of more than 600,000 km of fiber stretching across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and Asia. Sparkle’s sales team has a global presence, with representatives in 32 countries.

Find out more about Sparkle following its X and LinkedIn profiles or visiting the website tisparkle.com

 

About NaiTel

NaiTel is the telecom arm of Aqaba Digital Hub and a licensed telecom operator in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. NaiTel focuses on the development of telecommunications infrastructure and connectivity platforms, including fiber networks, peering services through AqabaIX, and international connectivity solutions, supporting regional digital ecosystems. Through its infrastructure and strategic initiatives, NaiTel enables carriers, digital platforms, and enterprises to access resilient connectivity across Jordan and the wider region.

Find out more about NaiTel by following its LinkedIn profile or visiting the website naitel.jo

 

About Aqaba Digital Hub
Aqaba Digital Hub is MENA’s leading digital infrastructure provider and the home of Jordan’s largest carrier-neutral, AI-ready data center. Its services include fiber internet, Jordan’s fastest-growing Internet exchange point (IXP), cloud platforms, VSAT, and subsea cable landing facilities, among others. ADH enables enterprises and technology providers to scale operations, accelerate digital services, and expand their regional impact.

Through its platform, ADH connects businesses to key partners and opportunities, ensuring competitive advantages in a dynamic digital landscape. Its commitment to innovation and sustainability drives forward-looking solutions, reinforcing Aqaba’s role as a premier connectivity hub. Find out more about ADH by following its LinkedIn profile, emailing us at in**@*dh.jo, or visiting our website at https://www.adh.jo.

 

About iLevant Limited

iLevant Limited is an international consultancy and advisory firm specializing in digital infrastructure, connectivity strategy, and technology-driven solutions. The company supports telecommunications operators, infrastructure providers, and investors in the planning, development, and implementation of large-scale connectivity and digital infrastructure projects across global markets.

 

 

Sparkle Media Contacts:

sp*******************@*******le.com

X: @TISparkle

 

Naitel Media Contacts:

in**@*dh.jo

 

 

The post Sparkle Signs MoU with NaiTel and iLevant to Build a New Digital Corridor Connecting Europe with Asia appeared first on Total Telecom.

SoftBank to build its own batteries for AI data centres | Total Telecom

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News

The new unit will support SoftBank’s expansive AI data centre ambitions

In a press release issued today, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has announced the creation of a new battery storage business operating under its mobile network operator unit, SoftBank Corp.

The standalone unit will work on both the technical development of battery technologies, as well as their manufacture.

To do this, the new unit has partnered with a pair of South Korean businesses – Cosmos Lab and DeltaX Co. – with whom they will collaborate on the technology.

Cosmos Lab specialises in battery cell technology, most notably zinc-halogen batteries that use pure water as their electrolyte, removing the flammability risk associated with lithium-ion batteries.

DeltaX Co. is an energy storage system manufacturer that builds ‘next-generation’ battery cells

The battery business unit will be focussed alongside SoftBank’s AI Data Center that is in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. Here, SoftBank is planning to set up two new sites: the AX Factory, focussed on AI data centre operations and AI infrastructure hardware manufacturing, and the GX Factory, a manufacturing hub for next-generation batteries, solar panels, and related products.

The company is aiming to deploy a plant with battery capacity of one gigawatt-hour per year, which could expand to multiple gigawatt-hours per year in future.

Even at just one gigawatt-hour per year, the deployment would already be one of the largest battery plants in Japan.

Initial production is expected to begin in March 2028, with mass production targeted for 2029.

Initially, the batteries produced will be used to support SoftBanks own AI data centres, but in future will expand to offering the batteries to commercial customers. These could include “grid applications in Japan, as well as for factories and other industrial uses, as well as for residential use, with a view to expanding into global markets over the medium term”, according to the company.

In total, SoftBank is aiming for the business to generate around ¥100 billion (US$637 million) in annual revenues by the end of the decade.

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Also in the news
TELUS and L-SPARK give Canadian startups access to AI supercomputer
Belden to acquire RUCKUS Networks for $1.85bn
VMO2 taps Suffolk solar farm for 10 years of clean energy

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