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Deutsche Telekom Industrial AI Cloud wins SOOFI contract

Deutsche Telekom Industrial AI Cloud wins SOOFI contract
Deutsche Telekom’s T-Systems has secured a multi-million-euro contract from Leibniz University Hannover to power SOOFI, a flagship initiative to build a 100-billion-parameter, European-operated large language model. The SOOFI (Sovereign Open Source Foundation Models) project will train a next-generation, open-source LLM focused on European languages and industrial requirements, replacing the current 7-billion-parameter Teuken7B with a model two orders of magnitude larger. T-Systems will host and operate the training environment in its new Industrial AI Cloud—an NVIDIA-powered facility that DT and NVIDIA unveiled as part of a €1 billion partnership.

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.

Orange to launch Europe’s first NTN D2D SMS

Satellite Connectivity in 2025: The New Backbone of Global Telecom
Orange is moving to commercialize direct-to-device satellite connectivity in Europe with a carrier-branded SMS service that extends coverage beyond terrestrial reach. Orange will launch “Message Satellite,” an SMS and location-sharing service that lets smartphones connect directly to satellites when mobile or Wi‑Fi coverage is unavailable. The consumer launch in mainland France is slated for 11 December 2025, with professional and enterprise availability following in 2026. At launch, the service will be offered to Orange 5G and 5G+ customers using Google Pixel 9 or Pixel 10 devices, with additional handsets expected over time. Pricing is set at €5 per month after a six‑month free introductory period.

AI Data Centers: How Much Renewable Energy?

IEA: $580B will go to data centers, surpassing oil. Can solar, storage, and new microgrids deliver 24/7 carbon-free power for the AI boom?
Renewables are emerging as the default option for new AI campuses, but the share that is truly carbon-free around the clock will hinge on siting, storage, and market design. Annual REC matching is no longer sufficient for leading buyers; the bar is shifting toward hourly, 24/7 carbon-free energy matching initiatives. Yet diurnal and seasonal variability limits how much of a site’s load can be met by solar and batteries alone, especially in non-sunny regions or during prolonged weather events. Expect mixed portfolios: on-site renewables and batteries, off-site PPAs (solar and wind), emerging long-duration storage, and grid purchases backed by hourly certificates where available.

5G net neutrality: Jio urges TRAI flexibility

Jio 5G Nears 50% of Mobile Base
5G standalone networks change the service model. Operators can carve the network into slices with distinct latency, reliability, and throughput characteristics validated by 3GPP standards. That enables ultra-reliable low-latency communications for factory automation, connected vehicles, remote operations, and mission-critical services. It also enables differentiated quality for cloud gaming, broadcast-like video, and IoT control loops when combined with edge computing and time-sensitive networking. Jio’s position is that treating all traffic identically under a single “internet access” umbrella can inhibit these new uses. A ruleset that preserves open internet principles for consumers yet explicitly allows specialized services with assured QoS for enterprises is what the company seeks.

Deutsche Telekom Q3: US growth, FTTH momentum, raised guidance

Deutsche Telekom Q3: US growth, FTTH momentum, raised guidance
Group revenue reached about €28.9 billion, up 3.3% on an organic basis, with service revenue and adjusted EBITDA AL growing despite currency pressure from a weaker U.S. dollar; adjusted EBITDA AL was roughly €11.1 billion on an organic basis, and full-year 2025 EBITDA AL guidance rose to around €45.3 billion alongside a stronger free cash flow after leases outlook near €20.1 billion. Adjusted net profit increased to approximately €2.7 billion (+14% year-on-year), while reported net profit was €2.4 billion (-18% year-on-year) due to lapping prior-year one-offs in financial activities—an accounting effect rather than a signal of operating weakness.

Private 5G CBTC Validation: CAF and Cellnex

Private 5G CBTC Validation: CAF and Cellnex
CAF’s signalling division and Cellnex demonstrated that OPTIO, a modular and multi-bearer CBTC platform, operates reliably on a private 5G network in both lab and field conditions, including challenging scenarios such as tunnels. The system already supports Wi‑Fi and LTE; adding 5G confirms a multi-access design that lets operators choose the right bearer per line, phase, or location. Private 5G brings ultra-low latency, higher capacity, stronger QoS control, and end-to-end security under the operator’s domain. The project received European co-financing via the Recovery and Resilience Facility under Spain’s UNICO Sectorial 2023 program, underscoring public support for digital rail modernization.

AST SpaceMobile D2D service by early 2026

AST SpaceMobile D2D service by early 2026
AST SpaceMobile is signaling a pivotal year ahead as it moves from demonstrations to commercial direct-to-device coverage with major operators and an aggressive launch schedule. The company’s plan to begin “intermittent nationwide” service in early 2026, followed by continuous coverage later in the year, is also a forcing function for device vendors, standards work, and MNO network integration. As AST scales to 45–60 BlueBird satellites by end-2026, pass frequency and overlap increase to support “continuous” service across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and other priority markets. AST reports over $3.2 billion in cash and liquidity.

6 GHz Band (n104) Validated for 5G-Advanced

6 GHz Band (n104) Validated for 5G-Advanced
A new pilot in Spain shows that the upper 6 GHz band can deliver 5G-class coverage with far higher capacity, positioning it as a prime spectrum option for 5G-Advanced and 6G. The 6.425–7.125 GHz range (3GPP Band n104) is the last sizable mid-band window that is not tied to legacy mobile use in Europe. The trial found that with higher-order massive MIMO and active antennas, the upper 6 GHz layer can match the practical coverage of 3.5 GHz from existing macro sites. European regulatory clarity, device support and refined coexistence rules are the next critical catalysts for scale.

Google’s €5.5B Germany Investment in AI Infrastructure

Google’s €5.5B Germany Investment in AI Infrastructure
Alphabet will invest €5.5 billion in Germany through 2029 to expand AI-capable cloud infrastructure and office capacity, anchoring new buildouts in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region. Google will construct a new data center in Dietzenbach, near Frankfurt, and continue scaling its Hanau campus opened in 2023. With Frankfurt’s role as Europe’s interconnection hub—home to DE-CIX—placement in Rhine-Main positions Google to serve latency-sensitive AI, analytics, and financial services workloads. Google Cloud will bring expanded capacity for services such as Vertex AI and Gemini models into its German regions, enabling enterprises to run training, fine-tuning, and inference closer to users and data.

Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile plan sovereign D2D NTN in Europe

Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile plan sovereign D2D NTN in Europe
A new joint plan from Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile aims to deliver satellite broadband directly to standard smartphones across Europe under a sovereign operational model. AST SpaceMobile has submitted plans through Germany for a space-based network designed to provide broadband directly to devices across Europe. Operations would run through SatCo, a Luxembourg-based joint venture with Vodafone announced earlier this year. The timing aligns with looming European spectrum decisions and intensifying competition in direct-to-device (D2D). S-band at 2 GHz is up for renewal across the region in 2027, and 700 MHz public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) frequencies are central to resilient communications strategy.

Telefónica 5-Year Plan Targets €3B Savings and Growth

Telefónica 5-Year Plan Targets €3B Savings and Growth
Telefónica has launched a 2026–2030 plan to accelerate growth, simplify operations, and unlock up to €3 billion in savings while doubling down on its core markets and technology investments. Revenue is guided to a 1.5%–2.5% CAGR from 2025–2028, accelerating to 2.5%–3.5% in 2028–2030; adjusted EBITDA is guided to the same ranges across the two periods. Telefónica targets a gross impact of up to €2.3 billion in 2028 and €3 billion by 2030, driven by technology and operational excellence, process simplification, digital transformation, and monetization of legacy network assets as shutdowns progress.
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