FWA

Union Budget: COAI seeks telecom spectrum and levy reform

Union Budget: COAI seeks telecom spectrum and levy reform
With the Union Budget around the corner, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) is asking for a structural fix to spectrum pricing, statutory levies, and GST that is designed to restore sector health and accelerate digital infrastructure build-out. COAI’s agenda centers on spectrum affordability, regulatory levy rationalization, and GST reform to unlock liquidity frozen as input tax credit. COAI argues for spending the sizable unused corpus first, holding the DBN levy in abeyance, and trimming license fees to roughly 0.5–1% to cover administrative costs. Cutting GST on regulatory payments from 18% to 5% would reduce the pace of new ITC build-up and meaningfully ease liquidity pressure.

Verizon 5G capex cuts as Q4 subscribers surge

Verizon 5G capex cuts as Q4 subscribers surge
Verizon exits 2025 with standout subscriber growth and a leaner 2026 investment plan that shifts dollars from network build to integration, efficiency and customer retention. Verizon posted more than 1 million net additions in the fourth quarter, including 616,000 postpaid phone net adds—the best showing since 2019—and 372,000 broadband net adds driven by 319,000 fixed wireless access (FWA) additions and the strongest Fios Internet quarter since 2020. After years of 5G coverage build, Verizon is pivoting to densification, fiber integration and operating efficiency, allowing capex to step down without undermining network competitiveness. Capital will concentrate on fiber-led convergence, FWA capacity, and experience-centric technologies that reduce churn and support revenue quality.

Deutsche Telekom takes FTTH sales in‑home

Deutsche Telekom takes FTTH sales in‑home
Germany’s largest operator is pairing a go-to-market reset with a new in‑home sales model to lift fibre take-up, accelerate copper migration, and defend share in a tightening fixed broadband battle. Deutsche Telekom is moving beyond sidewalks and basements to deliver fibre all the way to the customer premise, including in-building cabling for multi-dwelling units on network level 4. After regional pilots in 2025, Deutsche Telekom is rolling out permanent local fibre consultancy teams to meet customers and property owners at the doorstep. Fibre is a considered purchase; informed on-site guidance shortens decision cycles and reduces fallout between order and activation.

AI drives need for stronger 5G uplink in the U.S.

AI drives need for stronger 5G uplink in the U.S.
AI-driven experiences are flipping the traffic mix, pulling more capacity demand toward the uplink than U.S. mobile networks have historically planned for. Generative and vision-based AI are shifting usage from predominantly downloads to more continuous and bandwidth-heavy uploads. Recent benchmarking shows U.S. 5G networks prioritize downlink KPIs more than peers in Asia, even as uplink usage climbs. RootMetrics’ drive testing in late 2025 found all three U.S. carriers set roughly one-fifth of their midband Time Division Duplex (TDD) frame resources for uplink. That gap becomes material as AI, livestreaming, and enterprise camera workloads expand. U.S. carriers continued to win experience awards in early 2026, even as their uplink allocations trailed global leaders.

FWA adoption surges as speeds dip, Ookla finds

FWA adoption surges as speeds dip, Ookla finds
A new analysis of U.S. fixed wireless access shows subscriber momentum outpacing performance, a signal that capacity and management strategies are under pressure. Fixed wireless access from T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T added about 1.04 million net customers in Q3 2025, taking the U.S. FWA base to roughly 14.7 million. T-Mobile remains the U.S. FWA speed leader, posting a median download around 209 Mbps in Q3 2025. Median uploads dipped below 20 Mbps across providers, creating a hurdle for the FCC’s 100/20 benchmark. Urban FWA customers are more likely to meet the FCC’s 100/20 threshold than rural users due to radio geometry and site density.

Telecom and Tech M&A Tracker 2025

Telecom and Tech M&A Tracker
2025 has seen major telecom and tech M&A activity, including billion-dollar deals in fiber, AI, cloud, and cybersecurity. This monthly tracker details key acquisitions, like AT&T buying Lumen’s fiber assets and Google’s $32B move for Wiz, highlighting how consolidation is shaping the competitive landscape.

Jio IPO: Tariff Hike Timing, Airtel RMS, 5G Outlook

Jio 2026 IPO: Impact on 5G, Capex, ARPU, and India’s Digital Market
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.

Bouygues Telecom, Orange and SFR Real-Time Fiber Repair Pilot Improves CX in France

2024 U.S. Broadband Capex: $89.6B Investment
Work at local distribution points often triggers unintended service cuts, driving spikes in complaints, repeat truck rolls, and SLA penalties. By empowering on-site technicians to detect and remediate cuts instantly—rather than wait for back-office workflows—operators can compress mean time to repair, avoid secondary visits, and reduce inbound support volume. The result is fewer avoidable outages and a more predictable experience for consumers and businesses using fiber for VPN, SD-WAN, and cloud access. Previous collaboration (Lot 1) notified operators when their customers were impacted by nearby work, but the model was still largely reactive. Lot 2 integrates detection and authorization directly into technicians’ mobile tools.

FCC approves AT&T–UScellular 5G spectrum deal

FCC approves AT&T–UScellular 5G spectrum deal
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.

Ericsson Mobility Report: differentiated 5G connectivity

Ericsson Mobility Report: differentiated 5G connectivity
Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report points to a clear shift: operators are turning 5G capabilities into differentiated, SLA-backed services rather than just selling more data at higher speeds. After years of building coverage and capacity, 5G networks are mature enough to commercialize features like guaranteed latency, uplink boosts, and application-aware prioritization. The catalysts are in place: more 5G Standalone (SA) cores, rising traffic from video creation and immersive apps, and enterprise demand for predictable performance across sites and clouds. The net result is momentum behind premium, differentiated connectivity that can be priced, assured, and exposed to partners.

India 5G to hit 1B subscribers by 2031: Ericsson’s Mobility Report

Indian Telecom Operators Raise Tariffs After Three Years
India’s 5G market has entered a scale phase, with momentum pointing to more than a billion subscribers and deeper network modernization over the next six years. Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report projects over 1 billion 5G subscriptions in India by end-2031, representing about 79% of the country’s mobile base. Average mobile data usage per active smartphone in India stands near 36 GB per month and is forecast to approach 65 GB per month by 2031. Two demand-side levers stand out: affordable 5G devices and expanding Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), accelerating mainstream adoption and opening a credible substitute to wired broadband in underserved areas.

WISP vs Starlink Speeds: Ookla 2025

WISP vs Starlink Speeds: Ookla 2025
New performance data shows U.S. WISPs are getting faster, but low‑Earth orbit players like Starlink are advancing just as quickly—and the competitive gap in rural markets is narrowing. Based on Speedtest Intelligence data from Q1 2021 to Q2 2025, eight of the larger WISPs—Starry, Resound Networks, Nextlink, Wisper Internet, Unwired Broadband, GeoLinks, Etheric Networks, and Rise Broadband—improved speeds, with download gains outpacing uploads. Starry led by a wide margin with a 202 Mbps median download in Q2 2025, followed by Resound at 99 Mbps and Nextlink at 68 Mbps; GeoLinks trailed at 23 Mbps. Crucially, only a minority of WISP users consistently achieve the FCC’s 100/20 Mbps fixed broadband benchmark.

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