The chief executives of some of the biggest operator groups in Europe warned massive amounts of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) are still exchanged online each year and pressed authorities to give them the power to block it.

Margherita Della Valle from Vodafone Group, Christel Heydemann at Orange, Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer with Telenor Group and Allison Kirkby at BT Group want authorities to provide their companies with the legal clarity to prevent the sharing of more than 100 million CSAM files each year.

They have written an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and European Council President Antonio Costa warning the trading of CSAM material online is “at industrial scale”.

The CEOs argue differences in legal frameworks makes it difficult for telecom and internet service providers to fully pull their weight in tackling the problem, making the removal of barriers to “blocking access to domains and URLs” linked with CSAM a matter of urgency.

The CEOs believe an organisation with the oversight to identify and tackle CSAM throughout the European Union is necessary. They also want interim measures to the same end while such a group is being set-up.

Equally, the executives believe any such authority must be strictly overseen and its focus kept squarely on CSAM.

They called for governments in the region not within the EU to join the efforts with their own legal frameworks.

“Children need protection now, not in several years’ time.”

“The scale of abuse demands decisive action, so Europe must show global leadership.”

Unacceptable
Della Valle, Heydemann, Fasmer and Kirkby pointed to Internet Watch Foundation statistics indicating 62% of “confirmed CSAM web pages” were hosted in the EU in 2024.

A cyber tipline operated by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children “receives tens of millions of reports” involving children mostly aged between seven-and ten-years old.

“Girls are disproportionately targeted”, the executives noted.

They branded it “simply unacceptable” for CSAM to remain accessible due to delays in removing it at the source.

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AT&T picked vendor partner Ericsson to supply 600MHz dual-band radios as it works to put newly acquired spectrum from EchoStar to use across its wireless network.

The operator stated the move is part of its ongoing effort to boost capacity, coverage, and performance nationwide, with a particular focus on improving reliability in harder-to-reach places, including indoors and in rural areas.

AT&T explained the 600MHz spectrum is especially valuable because it can travel farther and penetrate buildings more effectively than some higher-frequency spectrum, helping customers stay connected in more locations, whether at home, at work, or on the move.

It is more than 60% of the way through a broader wireless network modernisation effort. In areas already upgraded with Ericsson infrastructure, AT&T said customers are seeing up to a twofold improvement in average speeds, a 10% reduction in dropped and blocked calls, and up to a 70% reduction in instances of slower data speeds. Standardising equipment at the top of cell towers has also cut uplink interference by as much as 80%, the operator said.

Ericsson was selected through an open, competitive process to supply the 600MHz dual-band radios, which will enable the operator to deploy uplink-enhancing 8RX technology across low-band spectrum for the first time.

AT&T noted the work is designed to strengthen the network for AI-driven applications, including content creation, sharing, and real-time interaction, building on the companies’ previously announced collaboration to accelerate open RAN deployment.

“We’re more than halfway through our wireless network modernisation, and we’re executing to plan,” said Yigal Elbaz, SVP and Network CTO at AT&T. “By combining our newly acquired 600MHz spectrum with Ericsson’s advanced radios, we’re improving coverage and performance for customers today while building a more modern, flexible network for the future.”

Dyon Agnew, SVP and head of Customer Unit AT&T at Ericsson Americas, said the deployment demonstrates the impact open architectures can have on performance at scale, adding that the two companies are working to deliver faster speeds and more consistent coverage across the US.

AT&T said it will share further details on timing and commercial availability of the 600MHz deployment at a later date.

It received final approval for the $23 billion EchoStar deal in July 2026. AT&T started deploying the 3.45GHz spectrum it bought from EchoStar last year through a short-term spectrum manager lease.

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Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges declared all areas of the business delivered impressive growth in the first half of 2026, highlighting continued momentum in the US and demand for its MagentaTV service in Germany fuelled by the football World Cup.

An earnings statement for Q2 2026 showed group revenue rose 4.4% year-on-year to €29.9 billion, while net profit was up 11.1% to €2.8 billion. The top line growth was driven by a 5.2% increase in the US to €19.6 billion and a 3.5% uplift in Germany to €6.5 billion. T-Mobile US earnings were reported on 23 July.

The rest of Europe rose 1.5% to €3.2 billion, while Systems Solutions was a sour point with revenue declining 13.4% to €998 million.

In Germany, the second quarter “was dominated by the FIFA World Cup”, with the company broadcasting all of the matches on MagentaTV. It said a million new customers signed up to the TV offering, with a large majority opting for its flex rate plans.

The company also pointed to an increase of 161,000 customers for its fibre offering and 218,000 new contract subscribers in mobile.

In Europe, it added 189,000 mobile contract customers, 56,000 broadband net additions and 16,000 across various TV offerings.

The decline in Systems Solutions was put down to low orders, however it still anticipates an overall rise over the full year.

For the full year, the company increased its guidance for free cash flow after leases from €19.8 billion to around €20 billion.

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Australian operator Optus joined a growing upper 6GHz movement, completing tests with Nokia it stated could be fundamental in an eventual transition to 6G.

A trial involving a robot dog is one of the items the pair researched. Optus explained the work validated the ability to automate mobile signal measurement, which it stated would have uses in designing indoor 6G networks.

Less showy but equally necessary were tests of advanced antenna technology and use of wider spectrum bandwidths. Optus and Nokia used current 5G infrastructure, but the operator expects the results to offer insights for indoor and outdoor 6G.

Optus stated the pair also explored ways 6G technologies could be localised for Australian demands, with an eye on the requirements of AI services, automation and future digital services.

The capability of upper 6GHz was proven through tests on Optus’ 5G network, with peak download data rates of 3.5Gb/s provided to a smartphone using a MediaTek modem in a set-up employing compatible Nokia massive MIMO antennas.

Optus CTO Sri Amirthalingam said the data rates show “the significant opportunity” upper 6GHz can deliver “for future networks”.

He said the capabilities trialled are set to be important elements in AI-native networks and the digital services these would unlock.

Momentum around upper 6GHz is building and GSMA experts believe it is now ready for real-world use because a designation as a key band means operators can begin planning investments.

Nations are jostling for a leading position in the band’s development and regulators are beginning to explore how best to employ it.

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