TELUS and L-SPARK give Canadian startups access to AI supercomputer | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

flag of Canada

Press Release

Inaugural cohort gains exclusive access to Canada’s fastest supercomputer and hands-on commercial expertise to build advanced AI solutions
TELUS and L-SPARK have announced a first-of-its-kind program designed to enable high-potential Canadian startups and scaleups to build, train and deploy advanced AI solutions on
Canada’s fastest and most powerful sovereign AI supercomputer. The TELUS Sovereign AI Accelerator will usher in a new wave of Canadian innovation by accelerating the go-to-market strategies and investment readiness of select businesses.


The inaugural cohort includes ambitious Canadian companies developing breakthrough AI solutions across retail, healthcare, robotics, enterprise software and industrial automation:

  • Airy3D:  Airy3D’s DepthIQ™ IP delivers simultaneous 2D images and 3D depth maps from a single passive image sensor – providing a compact, power-efficient, and cost-effective solution for use in robotics, automotive, industrial automation and consumer devices.
  • Codalio is an AI-driven product and application development platform that empowers startups and companies to launch MVPs and build scalable, enterprise-grade applications faster and more affordably.
  • Edge Signal helps retail and telco retail use physical AI to increase revenue and profitability, improve customer experience and optimize daily operations across every location.
  • PataBid offers AI enterprise-grade construction bidding software designed for complex specialty trades, delivering standardization and risk reduction for commercial, industrial, and institutional projects across teams and regions.
  • TopoLift transforms generic AI into a bespoke intelligence layer that learns the structure of the customer’s business and grows smarter with their data – delivering clearer reasoning, fewer errors and highly accurate, context-aware decisions.

Participants gain immediate access to the TELUS Sovereign AI Factory, paired with tailored business advisory support from L-SPARK, Canada’s leading corporate accelerator and innovation partner. This powerful combination of high-performance computing and hands-on commercial expertise equips these startups to transform ambitious AI roadmaps into scalable, market-ready offerings that strengthen Canada’s position in the global AI economy.

“Canada has no shortage of talented AI visionaries and founders, but too often they lack the coordinated support needed to scale from promising ideas to globally-competitive businesses,” said Hesham Fahmy, Chief Information Officer, TELUS. “The TELUS Sovereign AI Accelerator demolishes those barriers. By arming founders with the same high-performance AI infrastructure available to tech giants – combined with hands-on advisory support – we’re enabling them to accelerate development, strengthen their market position and build AI companies that dominate the world stage, right here in Canada.”

“Great AI companies aren’t built on technology alone – they’re built on execution, focus and access to the right expertise at the right time,” said Leo Lax, Executive Managing Director, L-SPARK. “Through the TELUS Sovereign AI Accelerator, we’re working hand-in-hand with each company to refine their product and position them for sustainable growth. This cohort represents the future of Canadian innovation, and our mission is to ensure they have everything they need to translate that potential into accelerated traction.”

Participating companies will receive compute credits from the TELUS AI Factory – powered by 99% renewable energy and NVIDIA platform – alongside one-on-one guidance from seasoned L-SPARK executive advisors. The six-month engagement is designed to fast-track product development, unlock new customer relationships and build the investor networks critical to long-term success, all while maintaining complete control over data and intellectual property.

The initiative underscores TELUS and L-SPARK’s shared commitment to strengthen Canada’s AI ecosystem by enabling founders to build and scale transformative technologies – securely, responsibly and domestically.

The post TELUS and L-SPARK give Canadian startups access to AI supercomputer appeared first on Total Telecom.

Belden to acquire RUCKUS Networks for $1.85bn | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

low angle photo of city high rise buildings during daytime

Press Release

Belden Inc. (NYSE: BDC) (“Belden” or the “Company”), a leading global supplier of specialty networking solutions, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire RUCKUS Networks (“RUCKUS”), a global provider of intelligent network solutions, from Vistance Networks (Nasdaq: VISN) (“Vistance”) for approximately $1.85 billion. The acquisition establishes Belden as a leading provider of complete, end-to-end IT/OT networking solutions.

RUCKUS is a leading provider of enterprise networking solutions delivering purpose-built connectivity for high-density, mission-critical environments, serving more than 48,000 customers globally. RUCKUS offers an integrated portfolio of Wi-Fi, enterprise switching and an AI-driven cloud networking platform that enables organizations to optimize performance, simplify operations and securely connect users and devices. RUCKUS is known for its differentiated technology, strong channel ecosystem and focus on reliability and user experience at scale.

“The addition of RUCKUS brings a leading provider of purpose-driven enterprise networks to Belden and accelerates our transformation into a full-stack networking solutions provider,” said Ashish Chand, President and CEO of Belden. “RUCKUS offers proven, differentiated Wi-Fi and enterprise switching technology that our customers in hospitality, education and healthcare are actively demanding, allowing us to deliver a more complete, end-to-end networking solution. Equally important, these same capabilities create a powerful opportunity to bring high-performance wireless and switching to our industrial customers, who are increasingly looking to converge their IT and OT environments. Together, Belden and RUCKUS will deliver a broader, higher-value networking solution for customers across enterprise and industrial environments, while strengthening our financial profile, generating strong free cash flow that supports rapid de-levering, and creating meaningful long-term value for stockholders.”

Compelling Strategic and Financial Opportunities:

  • Significant Growth Catalyst: Adds industry-leading Wi-Fi and enterprise switching capabilities that directly strengthen the Company’s solutions offering across core enterprise growth verticals, including hospitality, education and healthcare.
  • Expands Total Addressable Market: RUCKUS adds Wi-Fi and enterprise switching technology, product categories Belden does not currently offer, to markets where Belden already operates, meaningfully expanding the combined organization’s addressable opportunity. The combination positions Belden to deliver a more complete, higher-value active networking solution spanning enterprise campuses, high-density public venues and industrial facilities.
  • Capitalizes on Industrial Opportunity: RUCKUS’ proven high-performance networking platform creates a compelling opportunity to extend best-in-class wireless and switching into Belden’s industrial customer base, where demand for converged IT and OT connectivity is accelerating.
  • Delivers Compelling Financial Profile: RUCKUS’ high-margin profile is expected to drive accretion to Belden’s gross margins, Adjusted EBITDA margins, and Adjusted Earnings Per Share, representing a meaningful enhancement in Belden’s financial profile.
  • Clear Path to Rapid De-levering: Combined with Belden’s strong free cash flow generation and RUCKUS’ high cash conversion, the Company expects to reduce net leverage to below 3.0x within the first full year following close, and to reach its long-term target of approximately 1.5x by 2029. Belden will prioritize debt paydown while maintaining its commitment to disciplined capital allocation.

At approximately 13x projected 2026 Adjusted EBITDA, the transaction reflects a disciplined and attractive entry point for a high-margin, high-growth asset. RUCKUS brings a high-quality financial profile to the combined company, with high-single-digit revenue growth, gross margins above 60%, and Adjusted EBITDA margins above 20% in the first full year of ownership, each meaningfully above Belden’s current profile. As a result, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Adjusted Earnings Per Share. The acquisition is also expected to serve as a growth accelerator, further advancing Belden’s long-term financial framework.

Transaction Details

The acquisition was approved by both companies’ Boards of Directors and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, and the receipt of certain regulatory approvals.

Belden has obtained fully committed debt financing from J.P. Morgan that provides the Company flexibility to optimize its permanent capital structure between signing and closing based on market conditions.

Belden’s disciplined capital allocation and strong free cash flow generation support a clear path to de-levering post-close. With a combined Adjusted EBITDA base of approximately $650 million and RUCKUS’ high free cash flow conversion, Belden expects net leverage (a non-GAAP measure) to decline below 3.0x within the first full year after close, and to reach its long-term target of approximately 1.5x by 2029. Consistent with this priority, Belden intends to temporarily pause share repurchases until leverage returns closer to our long-term target.

The post Belden to acquire RUCKUS Networks for $1.85bn appeared first on Total Telecom.

Billing agility: From AI innovation to plugging revenue leaks | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

We caught up with Amol Gadre, Founder and CEO of Sarathi Softech, to discuss why flexibility is an integral feature of the company’s AI-enabled telco billing platform, EarnBill,  and how it is helping telecom operators and MVNOs stay ahead in an increasingly complex market.

From 5G and the IoT, to AI and personalised services, each year the telecoms sector continues to grow more complex. This offers a huge challenge for telco billing systems, particularly for those largescale telcos with slow-moving legacy systems that can act as bottlenecks for innovation.

For Gadre, these limitations were front-of-mind when developing Sarathi’s EarnBill platform, a core billing engine focussed on fast implantation and flexibility. Backed by over 13 years of Enterprise jBilling partnership and more than $2 billion in processed billing and payments, EarnBill has been built and battle-tested for precisely this moment.

“The big legacy systems for Tier 1 telcos mean implementations can be multi-year,” Gadre said. “We try to cut such implementation times by as much as half through our own agility.”

This agility is not just a matter of project management and efficiency in deployment. As the market moves towards increasingly complex data models and products, the billing system must be as flexible as the network itself.

“Take the data bank offering in Australia, for example, where unused monthly data allowance is ‘banked’ for use in later months,” said Gadre. “These kinds of offers are gaining popularity because they give customers a lot of flexibility. However, introducing innovative offerings like this requires a backend that is quickly customisable”.

Of course, building a billing system with this level of flexibility is no easy task, particularly given legacy constraints. EarnBill, however, benefits from the fact that it did not originate in the telco sphere, but rather enterprise billing through the jBilling platform. This gives it a level of flexibility not typically seen in more specialised telco billing systems.

“EarnBill is a ‘no assumptions made’ core billing engine,” explained Gadre, noting it can be applied to various domains, from mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers. “It’s not a platform that we have inherited from an existing telco system. Instead, it was built from the ground up to meet the needs of various domains including telcos, SaaS, IoT and IaaS amongst others.”

“Telcos are offering innovative plans in a competitive market. It’s EarnBill’s job to ensure they can come up with innovative offerings in a short amount of time,” he added.

Leveraging AI to plug leaking revenue

Naturally, AI plays a key role in EarnBill’s ongoing evolution in the telco sector. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has long been a core feature of efficient and autonomous billing systems, allowing them to handle complex operational workflows  with limited human intervention.

The recent development of agentic AI is showing a lot of promise of making this automation more intelligent. The autonomous AI agents can analyse data, make decisions, and execute tasks across workflows with minimal human intervention – this development marks a significant shift towards a more fluid and intelligent model. Specialised AI agents can dynamically review tariffs, suggest dispute resolution options in real time, and help personalise charges based on individual usage patterns and context, providing the much-needed agility.

“AI has sped up this automation process, with agentic AI taking over certain aspects of daily operations,” said Gadre. “Today, these processes are somewhere in the middle, where you have part automation, part human handling. We will see more and more of these processes handed over to AI agents as the technology matures. EarnBill would help operators make this transition.”

With telco complexity growing rapidly, stemming revenue leakage is emerging as a key initial target for these agents.

“We’re using automation to report billing errors in real time,” he said, emphasising that this not only saved telcos money but ultimately improved the end customer’s experience.

From services to full stack BSS

Ultimately, Gadre’s goal is for Sarathi to leverage AI to move up the value chain and begin offering a full stack BSS solution for telco customers.

Crucially, Gadre emphasizes that this platform must remain service oriented. In an industry where vendors often force operators to change their business processes to fit the software, EarnBill intends to remain the inverse.

“We don’t want to make our clients learn our platform and use it in a way where they need to change how their business operates,” Gadre concludes. “We have a very flexible system and a platform that is still evolving to cater to their needs as seamlessly as possible.”

For telcos looking to innovate and differentiate themselves from their competition, flexible, intelligent billing will only grow in importance.


Sarathi Softech is a Pune-based billing and revenue management specialist with over 15 years of deep expertise in Enterprise jBilling. 

The company’s flagship platform, EarnBill, is a flexible, enterprise-grade billing and revenue management platform built on top of jBilling, helping telecom operators and MVNOs launch complex offerings faster, protect revenue, and automate billing end-to-end.
Request a tailored demo and discover how EarnBill can cut your implementation time, protect revenue, and adapt to your business.  

  →  Visit earnbill.com/contact-us/

The post Billing agility: From AI innovation to plugging revenue leaks appeared first on Total Telecom.

Meta failed to prevent under-13s from accessing Instagram and Facebook, EU finds | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

blue and yellow flag on pole

News

The European Commission accused Meta of “failing to diligently identify, assess and mitigate the risks of minors under 13 years old accessing their services”

The European Commission has released its preliminary findings into whether Meta had breached the Digital Services Act (DSA), claiming the company had failed the adequately prevent under-13s from accessing its Instagram and Facebook platforms.

In a press release, the Commission said that Meta’s measures to prevent access by minors “do not seem to be effective”.

“Despite Meta’s own terms and conditions setting the minimum age to access Instagram and Facebook safely at 13, the measures put in place by the company to enforce these restrictions do not seem to be effective,” said the statement. “The measures do not adequately prevent minors under the age of 13 from accessing their services nor promptly identify and remove them, if they already gained access.”

It further stated that there are “no effective controls in place to check the correctness of the self-declared date of birth” and that Meta’s tools for reporting minors on the platform were “difficult to use and not effective”.

The first launched its investigation into company in 2024 following the implementation of the DSA, a broad legal framework covering how online platforms handle content and manage risks to customers online.

If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to 6% of its total worldwide annual turnover.

Meta’s turnover in 2025 was roughly $201 billion, suggesting a fine could be in the region of $12.6 billion.

“Meta’s own general conditions indicate their services are not intended for minors under 13. Yet, our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook are doing very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services,” said Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. “The DSA requires platforms to enforce their own rules: terms and conditions should not be mere written statements, but rather the basis for concrete action to protect users – including children.”

In a statement to the New York Times, Meta said it disagreed with the findings, claiming its methods of preventing access by under-13s were effective. It nonetheless says that it is rolling out additional measures “soon”, adding that “understanding age is an industry-wide challenge”.

Also in the news
Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
VodafoneThree drops Samsung, relies on Nokia and Ericsson for £2bn network upgrade

The post Meta failed to prevent under-13s from accessing Instagram and Facebook, EU finds appeared first on Total Telecom.

EE upgrades Scam Guard with AI Triple-Lock Protection | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

EE has today unveiled an all-new and upgraded Scam Guard, its most powerful and comprehensive fraud protection service to date. 

Available to EE pay monthly mobile customers for £2 a month on a 30-day rolling contract, the service builds on EE’s existing Scam Guard offering and provides AI Triple-Lock Protection, Scam Assistant, Mobile Device Security and Dark Web Monitoring to give customers complete peace of mind against today’s increasingly sophisticated scam landscape.

The launch comes as Cifas, the UK’s leading fraud prevention service, has revealed that more than 444,000 cases were recorded to the National Fraud Database in 2025, the highest number ever recorded in a single year, and a 6% increase on 2024. The surge is widely attributed to the growing use of AI by criminal networks to generate convincing phishing emails, fake websites, deepfake calls and targeted SMS scams at unprecedented scale.

As the UK’s best network, EE introduced Scam Guard to mobile customers in 2024. Since then, more than 169 million scam and spam attempts have been stopped by EE’s service – a testament to its commitment to customer protection. The new Scam Guard builds on that foundation, raising the bar not just on EE’s own capabilities but on what customers can expect from network providers more broadly. Looking ahead, EE expects the new service to prevent at least twice as many scams over the next 12 months.

With a suite of AI-driven features designed to tackle the full spectrum of modern threats, it represents a significant step forward in helping keep customers one step ahead of increasingly sophisticated scams:

AI Triple-Lock Protection: three layers of AI defence, around the clock

At the heart of the new Scam Guard is AI Triple-Lock Protection – a trio of cutting-edge digital safety features powered by Norton’s Genie AI engine, built to keep customers protected all day, every day. This includes:

  • Safe Email: providing 24/7 proactive scam protection for email inboxes, scanning and flagging suspicious messages so customers know if something is a scam before they even open it.
  • Safe SMS: using advanced AI to detect sophisticated scams in text messages, giving customers real-time protection and peace of mind every time they check their messages.
  • Safe Web: harnessing AI to protect customers from scams while shopping or browsing online, blocking malicious sites before they cause harm.

Scam Assistant and Call Labelling: real-time analysis across every channel

New Scam Guard also introduces Scam Assistant, a tool that allows customers to upload screenshots of texts, emails, websites, social media messages or even QR codes to receive instant advice on whether they are safe. Alongside this, Call Labelling delivers automatic, network-level screening of every incoming call, giving customers the information they need before they pick up.

Monitoring, security and password management: complete digital protection

Social Media Monitoring and Dark Web Monitoring watch for suspicious activity across a customer’s online footprint, sending quick notifications so they can take action without delay. Mobile Device Security provides real-time protection against ransomware, viruses and other online threats, automatically blocking dangerous attachments before they can cause damage. Additionally, Password Manager creates, stores and auto-fills strong, secure passwords, removing one of the most common vulnerabilities in personal online security.

Malcolm Cubitt, Director of Product, Mobile, EE, said: “Fraud in the UK is at a record high, with AI making scams more convincing and harder to detect. As these threats evolve, we continue to adapt as the UK’s best network—constantly seeking new and innovative ways to protect and support our customers. This includes leading industry alliances, investing in network-level controls, and employing a dedicated team of security experts. And now with our newly enhanced Scam Guard service, we’re providing customers with an even greater level of cyber security protection.”

EE is committed to helping customers enjoy the benefits of the digital world with confidence through practical protections like Scam Guard. This is underpinned by BT Group’s purpose to connect for good and its wider work to help people with the digital skills, tools and support they need to connect, stay safe and succeed.

EE Scam Guard forms part of a number of cyber security solutions offered to BT Group, which collectively over the last 12 months (Jan-Dec 2025) saw:

  • Blocked 1.6 billion attempts to access malicious domains
  • Stopped 200 million scam SMS messages
  • Blocked 61 million scam calls
  • Flagged a further 175 million nuisance and fraud calls to keep customers protected

The new Scam Guard is now available to all EE pay monthly mobile customers and will be available to purchase as an add on.

Also in the news
Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
VodafoneThree drops Samsung, relies on Nokia and Ericsson for £2bn network upgrade

The post EE upgrades Scam Guard with AI Triple-Lock Protection appeared first on Total Telecom.

VMO2 taps Suffolk solar farm for 10 years of clean energy | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The deal with Egg Power will supply roughly 5% of the company’s energy demands

Today, Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) is expanding its renewable energy usage, signing a new 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with solar power provider Egg Power.

The deal will see VMO2 source power from Egg’s new solar farm  70MW solar farm in Suffolk, which is currently under construction and is expected to begin power generation in 2027.

In total, the agreement is expected to cover around 5% of VMO2’s total energy demand.

Egg Power is a natural energy partner for VMO2, with both companies being owned by Liberty Global.

The deal is expected to significantly contribute to VMO2’s Net Zero carbon emissions goals, with the operator currently aiming for neutrality across its entire value chain by 2040.

“This agreement with egg Power is the latest step in Virgin Media O2’s journey to achieve net zero emissions by the end of 2040,” said Mark Hardman, Director, Finance Operations at VMO2. “We’re committed to growing and operating our business in a way that’s good for people and the planet, where we’re cutting carbon, securing renewable energy on a long-term basis, and sourcing renewable energy generation from the UK.”

The deal builds on a similar 10-year agreement for wind power that VMO2 signed with The Renewables Infrastructure Group last year. Combined, the two deals mean around 20% of VMO2’s energy usage will come from renewable PPAs.

Also in the news
Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
VodafoneThree drops Samsung, relies on Nokia and Ericsson for £2bn network upgrade

The post VMO2 taps Suffolk solar farm for 10 years of clean energy appeared first on Total Telecom.

Deutsche Telekom considers merging with T-Mobile | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

pink and purple led light

News

The move would create a combined entity valued at around $267 billion

Deutsche Telekom is considering merging with its US unit, T-Mobile, according to a report from Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter.

Deutsche Telekom already owns a 53% stake in the US company but is now reportedly considering forming a holding company to combine the two businesses.

If such a deal were to be struck, this new company would be jointly owned by both companies’ existing shareholders and would potentially seek a listing in both the US and Europe, the sources said. Reporting from the Financial Times suggests the latter would likely take place in Luxembourg, Amsterdam, or Dublin, rather than Germany, for take advantage of lower tax.

The same sources emphasise that discussions are at an early stage and no formal decisions have been made.

Neither Deutsche Telekom nor T-Mobile have commented on the media report.

Deutsche Telekom has gradually increased its stake in T-Mobile over the past five years, growing from roughly 43% in 2021, following the T-Mobile–Sprint merger, to today’s 53%.

The US unit is by far Deutsche Telekom’s most valuable business, comprising around 72% of the operator group’s total value.

A merger of this scale would trigger intense scrutiny from both American and European regulators, with impact on competition, foreign ownership of critical infrastructure, and aligning cross-border regulations all key issues.

“We don’t see competition, security, or regulatory issues leading the [US] government to block the deal, but there are significant political issues that might have to be addressed in the deal ​review,” analysts at New Street Research told Reuters.

Approval from the German government would also be required, with the government currently owning a 14% stake in Deutsche Telekom and state-owned lender KfW also owning 14%. These stakes combined makes the German state Deutsche Telekom’ largest stakeholder.

Also in the news

Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
VodafoneThree drops Samsung, relies on Nokia and Ericsson for £2bn network upgrade

The post Deutsche Telekom considers merging with T-Mobile appeared first on Total Telecom.

Bangladeshi telcos warn of shutdowns due to fuel crisis | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

an aerial view of a river running through a city

News

The country is one of the worst impacted by the ongoing war in Iran, with the majority of its fuel typically being imported from the Middle East

This week, Bangladesh’s telecoms network operators are warning that they may soon be forced to shut down services due to a lack of fuel.

In a letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) said that the industry is facing “severe operational distress due to the prolonged unavailability of commercial power and the lack of assured fuel supply for backup systems”.

“The situation has escalated beyond the operational control,” said the AMTOB in the letter. “If these conditions persist, there is an imminent risk of large-scale telecom network shutdowns across significant parts of the country.”

Bangladesh is facing a sever fuel shortage caused by the ongoing war in Iran, which has limited the export of vital fuel supplies from the Middle East. Around 80% of Bangladesh’s crude oil and 65% of its natural gas are imported from the region.

Fuel prices in Bangladesh have risen by around 15% since the start of the conflict and rationing is being imposed by the government.

For the telcos, which operate much of their infrastructure using this fuel, the situation could soon be untenable. Base transceiver stations (BTS) consume over 52,000 litres of diesel and 20,000 litres of octane daily, while data centre operations use around 500–600 litres of diesel per hour, or around 4,000 litres per day per facility.

“Multiple strategically vital telecom facilities are currently running on dangerously low fuel reserves,” said the letter.

Network operators are calling on the government to grant parts of their networks priority in order to ensure that critical services like mobile financial transactions and emergency response can remain operational.

Also in the news

Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
VodafoneThree drops Samsung, relies on Nokia and Ericsson for £2bn network upgrade

The post Bangladeshi telcos warn of shutdowns due to fuel crisis appeared first on Total Telecom.

AST SpaceMobile satellite placed into wrong orbit | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The failed deployment could hinder commercial pilots of direct-to-device (D2D) services for AST’s mobile operator partners

Satellite company AST SpaceMobile has hit a setback this week, with its latest BlueBird 7 satellite being deployed in the wrong orbit.

The launch, which took pace on Sunday, saw BlueBird 7 carried into low Earth Orbit (LEO) by Blue Origin’s New Glenn reusable rocket. However, issues in deployment led to the satellite being placed into too low an orbit.

“During the New Glenn 3 mission, BlueBird 7 was placed into a lower than planned orbit by the upper stage of the launch vehicle. While the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and powered on, the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and will [be] de-orbited,” explained AST SpaceMobile in a statement, noting that the cost of the lost satellite was covered by an insurance policy.

AST is currently in the process of deploying a constellation of roughly 90 LEO satellites, which will be used to provide global coverage of D2D satellite services. This will allow AST’s mobile operator partners, such as Vodafone and AT&T, to provide customers with coverage beyond the limits of their terrestrial networks.

AST currently has six active satellites in orbit, which provide intermittent coverage and have primarily been used for preliminary tests of the company’s D2D technology. BlueBird 7 was set to be the first of the company’s upgraded satellites, with 45–60 additional devices targeted for launch before the end of the year.

“The company is currently in production through BlueBird 32, with BlueBird 8 to 10 expected to be ready to ship in approximately 30 days,” said the company statement. “The company continues to expect an orbital launch every one to two months on average during 2026, supported by agreements with multiple launch providers, and it continues to target approximately 45 satellites in orbit by the end of 2026.”

The extent to which the failure to deliver BlueBird7 will impact AST’s customers is unclear. VodafoneThree, for example, is scheduled to begin trials of the technology with customers this summer.

Also in the news
Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
VodafoneThree drops Samsung, relies on Nokia and Ericsson for £2bn network upgrade

The post AST SpaceMobile satellite placed into wrong orbit appeared first on Total Telecom.

Arelion upgrades Nørre Nebel site, prepares for more subsea cables | Total Telecom

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

body of water under blue and white sky at daytime

Press Release

These developments support the continued growth of the Nordic digital infrastructure market amid significant private data center expansion in Jutland and Copenhagen

Arelion is upgrading its Nørre Nebel site to support additional cable landings and long-term network scalability. The site is fully operational and project-ready with front haul, back haul and subsea horizontal directional drilling (HDDs) for landing multiple diverse sea cables in place.

The global internet carrier is leveraging its network of ducts on the north route from Nørre Nebel to Copenhagen via a unique subsea cable system from Aarhus to Copenhagen. On the south route, ducts passing Esbjerg to Kolding and Copenhagen add resilience and route diversity, with Kolding serving as a key junction point for routes south to Germany and east to Copenhagen.

These investments are part of Arelion’s ongoing strategy to connect many new data center developments in the region to its network, including the recently completed new duct and cable extensions connecting the atNorth DEN01 Copenhagen data center to Arelion’s Nordic AI superhighway.

Complementing the infrastructure, new optical systems supporting wavelength capacity have been added between Amsterdam and Kolding to enable more efficient traffic routing and offer diversity bypass options for Hamburg.

The improvements strengthen connectivity for customers in Denmark’s expanding data center markets and align with broader European initiatives to improve subsea and terrestrial infrastructure across the North Sea region. Denmark’s access to renewable energy and its strategic position continue to support its emergence as a regional data center hub, with the national market expected to reach $2.9 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.44 percent.

“These upgrades to our Danish network reflect our broader commitment to strengthening digital infrastructure across the Nordics, helping us support enterprise and wholesale customers with low-latency, fully diverse connectivity and predictable performance as they deploy AI applications,” said Johan Ottosson, VP Strategy & Product Management at Arelion. “Our continued investment ensures the capacity needed to keep pace with accelerating demand for AI-driven services, providing a scalable and secure foundation for both training workloads and latency-sensitive inference use cases.”

The submarine cable industry is changing rapidly. Join the industry in discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA, the world’s premier subsea industry event

Also in the news
Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
VodafoneThree drops Samsung, relies on Nokia and Ericsson for £2bn network upgrade

The post Arelion upgrades Nørre Nebel site, prepares for more subsea cables appeared first on Total Telecom.