5G

IBM has agreed to acquire Confluent for $31 per share in cash, signaling a decisive move to make real-time, governed data the backbone of generative and agentic AI across hybrid cloud environments. The transaction values Confluent at an enterprise value of roughly $11 billion, with closing targeted by mid-2026 pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Together they aim to unify application, data, and AI pipelines across public clouds, private data centers, and edge locations—reducing integration friction and accelerating time to value for enterprise AI.
Reliance Jio’s path to a mid-2026 IPO is increasingly intertwined with the timing and magnitude of India’s next mobile tariff hike. Domestic brokers argue Jio has a tactical reason to push back on near-term tariff increases: hikes tend to accelerate Bharti Airtel’s revenue market share (RMS) gains more than Jio’s, narrowing the lead at the worst possible time for an IPO. Airtel has been the key beneficiary of previous price actions, chipping away at Jio’s RMS advantage by almost two percentage points since mid-2024. On current assumptions, Jio is informally pegged around $153 billion, implying an EV/EBITDA multiple near the low teens.
A strategic merger to accelerate standardized 5G NTN Cobham Satcom is merging its Network Division with Gatehouse Satcom to push 3GPP-based non-terrestrial networks from trials to scalable deployments. The combined entity will sit as a subsidiary within Cobham Satcom Group, led by Kenney Schmidt Christiansen, Gatehouse Satcom’s current CEO. Cobham Satcom will hold a majority stake and continue to serve maritime, government, and enterprise customers through its SAILOR, Sea Tel, EXPLORER, and TRACKER brands. The transaction requires standard regulatory approvals but positions both companies to offer an end-to-end 5G NTN platform spanning software, ground infrastructure, and terminals.
New data points to a step-change in cellular IoT adoption as 5G broadens into mid-tier and massive-scale use cases while 4G-era LPWA keeps expanding. Omdia forecasts cellular IoT connections to reach roughly 5.9 billion by 2035, driven by expanding addressable use cases across industrial automation, utilities, transportation, retail, and consumer-adjacent categories such as wearables. The growth profile is no longer tied only to premium 5G performance; instead, scaled adoption is coming from three complementary pillars: 5G RedCap for mid-tier performance at lower cost, 5G Massive IoT (evolving NB-IoT/LTE-M under a 5G core), and 4G LTE Cat-1bis for low-cost devices that still require voice or moderate throughput.
SCF (Small Cell Forum) has published a new report exploring how proven small cell design principles and open interfaces can help the ecosystem overcome some of the challenges facing emerging 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs), particularly regenerative LEO satellite systems. The paper, Small Cells and Non-Terrestrial Networks: Common Challenges and Common Solutions, explains that although terrestrial and space-based networks operate in very different environments, they share several engineering and operational constraints, including strict SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) requirements. Compact and efficient radio designs, modular architectures and standardized interfaces are essential in both domains. SCF’s existing body of work provides a set of components and frameworks that can be reused or adapted for 5G NTN satellite payloads and hybrid terrestrial–satellite deployments.
New consumer research commissioned by Viasat and executed by GSMA Intelligence signals that non-terrestrial networks (NTN) are becoming a mainstream buying factor for mobile subscribers. The survey of more than 12,000 smartphone users across 12 countries finds persistent coverage gaps: over a third of respondents lose basic cellular service multiple times per month. That pain point is translating into intent. Roughly six in ten consumers say they would pay extra for satellite-enabled connectivity on their phones, and nearly half indicate they would switch operators if out‑of‑coverage service were included in their plan. On average, those willing to pay would accept a 5–7% uplift on their current monthly bill, with outliers such as India approaching a 9% premium.
The Indian government has floated draft rules that refine how mobile operators can share spectrum, aiming to boost spectral efficiency and accelerate 5G expansion under the new telecommunications regulatory framework. The draft rules seek to formalize spectrum sharing under the new regime, giving operators a clearer pathway to pool or share spectrum holdings while ensuring compliance with license conditions. In practical terms, telcos would gain a more predictable mechanism to use underutilized spectrum, improve coverage, and optimize capacity without always resorting to new auctions or heavy capex.
Switzerland’s SBB has deployed an Ericsson IMS/VoLTE platform that interworks with legacy GSM-R, delivering Europe’s first live bridge between public 4G voice and mission-critical railway communications. Ericsson and SBB completed a nationwide IMS/VoLTE integration that extends reliable voice communications across Switzerland’s 3,100 km rail network and removes dependency on public 3G roaming for coverage gaps outside GSM-R footprints. The IMS core integrates multi-supplier elements and preserves EIRENE features such as functional numbering, group calls, emergency stop calls, and onboard announcements, ensuring safety-critical behavior is maintained. It also demonstrates that mission-critical requirements can be met over modern IP telephony when engineered with the right interworking, governance, and testing.
The FCC has approved AT&T’s agreement to acquire a portfolio of UScellular wireless spectrum licenses for $1.02 billion, advancing AT&T’s mid-band capacity strategy and reshaping competitive dynamics in U.S. 5G markets. The licenses span select UScellular markets, bolstering AT&T’s holdings in areas where UScellular has long operated, including rural and midwestern regions. With FCC consent in hand, the parties can proceed to closing market by market, subject to routine administrative steps and any local obligations. Mid-band spectrum remains the sweet spot for balanced capacity and coverage. This positions AT&T to better support RedCap devices, uplink-sensitive applications, and the early wave of 5G-Advanced features.
Netflix plans to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets in a $72 billion transaction that could reshape streaming, theatrical distribution, and the broader media supply chain. The cash-and-stock offer values Warner at $27.75 per share and implies an enterprise value of $82.7 billion including debt. The combination would join Netflix’s global streaming leader with Warner’s television and motion picture divisions, including HBO, HBO Max, and DC Studios. Closing is targeted within 12–18 months, subject to regulatory clearance. The deal encompasses Warner’s studios and streaming businesses and their associated IP libraries.
A landmark private 5G pilot at EMSTEEL with e& UAE signals how industrial networks in the region are evolving from connectivity add-ons to strategic infrastructure. The pilot delivers dedicated, high-speed wireless coverage across complex industrial spaces that are often hostile to traditional Wi‑Fi and public cellular. For manufacturers in the UAE, this is a meaningful milestone: it showcases a path to secure, deterministic wireless that can carry safety-critical and time-sensitive workloads on the shop floor. Private 5G gives factories a foundation to adopt connected worker tools, real-time quality control, AI-assisted operations, and digital twins without moving sensitive data off-site.
ZTE, China Unicom Liaoning and Dalian Changhai Airport have put a 5G-Advanced private network with integrated sensing and communications into live service to address low-altitude security at an island test flight field. The partners deployed a private 5G-Advanced architecture that fuses high-throughput connectivity with precision sensing on the same infrastructure, tailored for a maritime, island airport where traditional patrols and single-sensor radars leave blind spots for “low, slow, small” targets such as drones and bird flocks. According to the partners, the network is running 24/7 at the test flight field and has lifted low-altitude detection accuracy near 98%. By consolidating connectivity and sensing on one footprint, the deployment claims about 30% less space and roughly 25% lower capital intensity versus separate radios and radars.

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