MobileX and Boost Mobile founder Peter Adderton (pictured) rebuffed the reported view of T-Mobile US CEO Srini Gopalan that Starlink poses little threat to mobile operators.

Financial Times (FT) reported Gopalan is struggling to see what consumer problem satellite services solve by entering the mobile market.

“You’ve got to ask the question of ‘What is the gap in the market that they’re looking to serve?'” he reportedly said, adding a broader network is “clearly not” what would draw customers to a new mobile service.

In a post on LinkedIn, Adderton said Gopalan’s position misses the point entirely.

“I always find it funny when wireless executives ask, ‘Why would a customer switch? It’s clearly not because they have a broader cellular network,'” he said. “That’s exactly the point.”

He argued Starlink is not trying to out-build T-Mobile’s network, but to offer something terrestrial operators cannot easily replicate: a single service combining terrestrial and satellite connectivity, spanning cities, rural areas, highways, mountains and water, with plans to eventually extend worldwide.

Adderton drew a comparison to Uber, arguing consumers did not choose the service because it built better roads, but because it created a better experience on infrastructure which already existed.

He explained the mistake operators make is assuming customers are shopping for another mobile network, when they may instead be shopping for connectivity which “just works”.

Adderton also took aim at the broader response from operator executives to Starlink’s mobile ambitions, suggesting a coordinated messaging effort.

“Seems every MNO CEO in the JV got the same script and, credit where credit’s due, they’re sticking to it beautifully,” he wrote on X. “Their PR teams must be very proud. Not a rogue talking point in sight.”

Plans
Gopalan’s reported comments were made before Elon Musk confirmed SpaceX plans to build a US mobile service.

On SpaceX’s Q2 earnings call, Musk said Starlink’s terrestrial mobile network would likely offer better connectivity and higher bandwidth than what is currently available from mobile operators.

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said she expects to draw a significant number of customers from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, with Starlink Mobile satellites launching in 2027 and services due to commence by the year-end.

Gopalan told FT satellite technology would remain “complementary” to existing networks rather than a replacement.

T-Mobile is one of several operators which holds satellite access deals with SpaceX to supplement rural coverage.

FT reported Gopalan also addressed T-Mobile’s growth strategy, stating it aims to more than double its broadband customer base to 20 million within four years and grow its rural market share beyond its current 24%.

The post MobileX founder counters T-Mobile CEO on Starlink threat appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) named Spain-based Hispasat as the lead contractor for its IRIS2 European satellite network, handing it a budget of more than €1.6 billion.

Owned by Spanish defence company Indra Group, Hispasat has been charged with providing antenna infrastructure, control systems and ground network connectivity for IRIS2.

It will also lead the development of the system’s very low Earth orbit layer, operating at altitudes below 750km. This layer is designed to provide direct connectivity services to mobile devices and for IoT, providing access for European startups and SMEs.

The agreement further guarantees Hispasat access to non-geostationary orbits in regions of high strategic interest, complementing its range of capabilities and geographic coverage.

To that end, Hispasat has committed an investment of up to €600 million in exchange for obtaining “exploitation rights” in regions of high strategic interest and commercial value for the business it already operates through its geostationary fleet.

The award comes following talks between the EC, ESA and SpaceRISE, a satellite consortium formed between Eutelsat, SES and Hispasat.

Luis Mayo, CEO of Hispasat, noted the agreement helps it strengthen its position among the leaders of the European space industry and in its main business areas.

The IRIS2 programme will deploy a network of 330 new LEO satellites and 12 medium earth orbit (MEO) birds, with initial services due to begin in 2030. In total, €15.6 billion will be invested in the project, with €11.6 billion coming from public funds and €4 billion from the SpaceRISE consortium.

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Zayo partnered with Nvidia to build out critical network capacity aimed at supporting AI factories, as the digital infrastructure provider looks to close a widening gap between compute demand and available network bandwidth.

Through the collaboration, Zayo is constructing more than 8,000 miles of new long-haul fibre across fast-growing AI corridors, alongside a significant expansion of capacity across its existing infrastructure.

The work spans 24 total routes, comprising six new long-haul routes, 10 overbuilds of existing network across high-demand markets, and eight existing fibre routes.

Nvidia is a Zayo customer and will have significant access to capacity across all the new and overbuilt routes.

Zayo CEO Steve Smith stated AI is reshaping where and how network infrastructure needs to be built across the US, adding the company has invested heavily in modelling where AI-driven demand will emerge so it can expand infrastructure ahead of that demand.

He said Zayo is combining decades of experience building and operating large-scale network infrastructure with Nvidia’s accelerated computing capabilities to support AI connectivity across North America.

Zayo said the expansion is designed to benefit the broader AI ecosystem beyond the largest hyperscalers, including neoclouds, frontier model developers, and enterprises across sectors such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing.

Over the past 18 months, Zayo has expanded its AI-focused network buildout to more than 15,000 route miles across North America.

Its recently completed acquisition of Crown Castle’s fibre and small cell assets added 90,000 metro route miles and 40,000 on-net enterprise locations, strengthening the company’s metro density for AI inference workloads.

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SpaceX outlined plans to build a massive semiconductor fabrication facility in the US state of Texas, with an initial investment of more than $16.8 billion designed to support growing demand for AI chips across its satellite and space operations.

Texas governor Greg Abbott announced the first phase of the Terafab project, which is expected to create 3,000 jobs and has been backed by a $30 million Texas Enterprise Fund grant. The project also qualifies for incentives through the state’s Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation programme.

The planned 100-million-square-foot site in Grimes County, Texas, will combine logic, memory and advanced packaging under one roof, enabling SpaceX to consolidate parts of the semiconductor production chain as it seeks to avoid constraints in global chip supply.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated the facility will help the company produce AI chips at scale for use on Earth and in space. The project is expected to support future hardware requirements across Starlink, Starship and broader space infrastructure.

Abbott stated Texas was selected because of its business climate, workforce, infrastructure and logistics advantages. Local officials said the development could provide a long-term economic boost for Grimes County and Southeast Texas, with roles spanning engineering, technical operations and plant management.

The investment deepens SpaceX’s presence in Texas, where it already operates its Starbase headquarters, a site in Cameron County and a Starlink manufacturing facility in Bastrop.

SpaceX is pitching Terafab as part of a wider push to secure in-house chip capacity for next-generation aerospace, connectivity and AI workloads, as demand for customised compute grows across the company’s satellite broadband and launch businesses.

Intel also signed up for the project by working with SpaceX, Tesla and xAI to help refactor silicon fab technology at Terafab and support an ambition to produce 1-terrawatt of compute annually for AI and robotics workloads.

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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (pictured) highlighted an ambitious growth plan for the company’s Starlink broadband service, forecasting a hundredfold increase in total delivered bandwidth driven by its next-generation V3 satellite constellation.

Speaking on SpaceX’s first earnings call as a public company, Musk and president Gwynne Shotwell detailed a long-term strategy to capture a majority of global internet traffic in accessible markets.

To support the push, the operator recently applied to the Federal Communications Commission seeking approval to deploy up to 100,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites for its V3 satellite network, supplementing the approximately 9,600 broadband V2 birds currently in orbit.

SpaceX’s Starlink broadband customers doubled to 12 million year-over-year despite price increases for the service. Starlink ended Q2 with service availability in 167 markets “with some very exciting announcements coming soon,” he said.

Those numbers are the tip of the iceberg, according to Musk.  

“This is a big deal,” he said. “It’s kind of hard for people to wrap their minds around this, but it’s not out of the question that at some point, Starlink will deliver a majority of the world’s internet, at least in countries where we’re allowed to operate.”

Musk stated individual Starlink V3 satellites deliver roughly 10 times the performance of V2 models. While V2 hardware typically maxes out between 100Mb/s and 450Mb/s depending on network congestion, the V3 constellation deployment is designed to unlock gigabit-class downlinks for standard end users.

Musk stated a V3 Starlink bird will launch on Starship flight 14, but this time they’ll enter an “operational orbit.” Last month’s Starship flight sent up a batch of V3 satellites as part of a suborbital test.

“The Starlink V3 satellite is about an order of magnitude more capable than the Starlink V2 satellite, which was already a very capable satellite,” he explained. “And we expect to launch about an order of magnitude more Starlink V3 satellites.

Combined with plans to launch 10 times as many V3 birds, the upgraded constellation is projected to increase overall bandwidth capacity by two orders of magnitude. He emphasised that even if revenue per bit decreased by 90%, the expansion will still drive a tenfold increase in Starlink revenue.

“It’s certainly a bold claim and one that contravenes the company’s prior statements that Starlink was most appropriate for rural users,” Quilty Space founder and CEO Chris Quilty told Mobile World Live. “Starlink V3 will provide a 10x boost, reaching 8Pb/s of downlink capacity, but aggregate network capacity is a misleading metric because capacity is geographically distributed while demand is geographically concentrated.”

AI compute capacity
SpaceX ended Q2 with 1.4 gigawatts of compute capacity, up from 1 gigawatt in the prior quarter and 400 megawatts a year ago.

“We expect to end this year with over 2 gigawatts of compute,” Musk stated.

Asked about the outlook for compute capacity, Musk revised his earlier target upward on the call. Rather than the roughly 10 gigawatts previously floated for the end of 2027, he said SpaceX is now aiming for approximately 15 gigawatts of power and cooling capacity online by the end of next year, with a stretch goal of 20 gigawatts.

“We’re actually aiming to far exceed that gigawatt number in terms of power online, power cooling, and electrical equipment,” he explained.

“I don’t think we’re going to achieve 20 gigawatts, but we want to have a series of projects that cumulatively come to 20 gigawatts by the end of next year,” he added. “Our goal is to have far more power, cooling, and electrical equipment than we have GPUs. That’s a logical thing to do given the relative expense of GPUs.”

He said SpaceX is taking the expertise it uses for rockets and satellites and applying it to scaling terrestrial data centres.

“SpaceX as a company is incredibly good at hardware,” Musk said.

Going forward on data centres, Musk said SpaceX has decided “to build exclusively on Nvidia, because we think the Vera Rubin is the best architecture.”

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Global revenue from private mobile networks is estimated to grow from $2.3 billion in 2025 to $22 billion in 2030, according to an STL Partners forecast, with the manufacturing industry vertical leading the way in terms of spending.

In a new report, the research company stated the five-year uplift represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 58%, as the number of private network sites increase from 4,000 by the end of 2025 to more than 40,000 by 2030.

Manufacturing is “by far the largest vertical” and will continue to be so, growing at 59% CAGR on the back of AI-driven automation and Industry 4.0 use cases. Logistics, meanwhile is emerging as a fast grower at a CAGR of 86%, driven by labour shortages and a push into automation.

It also cited growth in utilities and construction, which will move ahead of transport by the end of the decade.

Rosalind Craven, principal analyst at STL, said private networks remain a fast-growing market, but cautioned growth alone will not make success straightforward for vendors and telcos operating in it.

“Enterprises are not buying networks for their own sake; they are solving specific business problems and chasing measurable outcome,” she said. “Private networks can support many of those goals, but success hinges on communicating that value clearly and winning budget priority against competing investments.”

STL said it gathered data from across 15 vertical industry verticals, seven use case groups and nine value chain components across 33 countries for its report.

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Samsung Electronics took the wraps off AI memory technology it stated can deliver eight-times the performance of its previous generation, as the vendor presented its vision on how to address growing demands for compatible infrastructure.

Unveiled at the Future of Memory and Storage 2026 event in Santa Clara, California, the company showcased the first concept models of zHBM and zNAND-O, which it stated represent the next-generation of 3D memory architectures.

It stated zHBM is designed for advanced AI computing, presenting a new architecture which vertically stacks high bandwidth memory directly above AI accelerators, “moving beyond conventional designs in which HBM is positioned alongside the processor”.

Samsung explained a next-generation interface system incorporating zHBM is expected to deliver an eightfold performance uplift over HBM5.

With next-generation wafer bonding technology, it can deliver more than 10-times the memory density of HBM5 while enhancing energy efficiency threefold and reducing thermal resistance by more than half.

It also apparently supports customer-specific designs, enabling customised IP to be integrated into “the interlayer between the memory and AI accelerator to expand memory capacity and enhance accelerator performance”.

The vendor positioned zNAND-O as a high-performance set-up combining high efficiency and low latency which is optimised for edge AI environments and capable of handling related real-time, data-intensive applications.

Finally, it showed off what it stated is the industry’s first V10 BV-NAND architecture featuring new wafer bonding with more than 400 layers capable of increasing storage density by 60% compared with previous generations.

$1 trillion market
Samsung is battling with the likes of SK Hynix and Micron to secure a leading position in the memory market and lucrative data centre contracts from major AI players.

In Q2, Samsung registered another all-time high in overall earnings, driven by memory sales.

Counterpoint Research estimates global semiconductor memory revenue will hit $1 trillion this year compared with $240 billion in 2025, due to demand from AI data centres and constraints on supply.

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SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell claimed Starlink Mobile is positioned to compete directly with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile US, pointing to the trio’s roughly $600 billion in combined annual revenue as a measure of the opportunity.

Speaking on SpaceX’s Q2 earnings call, Shotwell said the service’s capability could improve roughly 100-fold once the company deploys next-generation birds and spectrum acquired from EchoStar, with commercial service targeted to begin by the end of next year.

Shotwell said the current direct-to-cell system operates using around 5MHz of bandwidth through local telco partners, but SpaceX now has access to 65MHz of bandwidth via the EchoStar spectrum deal, alongside plans to deploy roughly 10 times as many satellites.

“So, simplifying, you could look at Starlink Mobile leveraging the next-generation satellite and the EchoStar spectrum as being 100 times better, 10 times 10 better than what we’ve got right now,” she said, adding the upgraded service already supports voice and video calls over apps such as Signal and WhatsApp.

Shotwell described a terrestrial deployment approach built around Starlink’s existing broadband hardware rather than a conventional cell tower build-out.

“You could put a base station, a cellular base station on the gear that holds a Starlink broadband dish,” she said. “You can have kind of these little femtocells around the country and you deploy that as you need it. You don’t have to necessarily spend many billions of dollars in low band spectrum all upfront before you deploy your system.”

She was reluctant to give a specific capex figure for the terrestrial build-out.

“We have a lot of really kind of great and new ideas for how we’re going to do that,” she said. “And I think it will be quite capex efficient.”

CEO Elon Musk elaborated on the same point, saying it was worth emphasising given its importance to the economics of the rollout.

Rather than deploying expensive, hard-to-site large cellular base stations, he said SpaceX expects to deploy a large number of small stations which are effectively Starlink dishes also equipped to provide connectivity in mobile spectrum bands.

“The Starlink antennas are located on the roofs of houses and businesses,” he said. “So, they’ve got a sort of a clear view for providing connectivity directly to cell phones on the ground.”

Musk expects the resulting service to offer “better and higher bandwidth than what is currently available from cellular providers”.

Shotwell stated SpaceX expects strong customer uptake once the improved service launches.

“I anticipate us to be able to acquire quite a few of their customers, because I think our service will be better,” she said, citing Starlink Mobile’s ability to eliminate dead zones and maintain service during natural disasters, given the relative stability of the satellite environment compared with terrestrial infrastructure on the ground.

Q2 numbers
SpaceX reported Q2 revenue of $7.8 billion, up 92 per cent year-on-year from $4.1 billion, in the company’s first results release since going public in June.

Net loss narrowed to $541 million, an improvement of $467 million from the $1 billion loss posted a year earlier.

Capex surged to $18.4 billion for the quarter, up from $2.8 billion a year earlier, driven overwhelmingly by the AI segment where it reached $15.8 billion. Space segment capex came in at $1.2 billion and Connectivity capex at $1.4 billion.

The AI division, spanning Grok, X, cloud infrastructure and advertising, posted revenue of $2.6 billion, up 247%, driven by new Cloud Services Agreements and Grok/X subscription growth.

The business generates compute-contract revenue from customers including Anthropic, Google and Reflection AI, though some recurring revenue has yet to be recognised.

The segment narrowed its operating loss 49% quarter-on-quarter to $1.3 billion, though SpaceX cautioned the unit needs sustained investment to turn profitable. It signed $14.1 billion in contracted Cloud Services Agreements and announced a $60 billion deal to acquire coding tool Cursor.

Connectivity, the Starlink-led segment, generated $4.3 billion in revenue, up 66%, with operating income up 79% to $1.7 billion. Starlink subscribers doubled to 12 million.

The Space segment posted revenue of $962 million, up 29% with an operating loss of $542 million as the company invested heavily in Starship.

SpaceX ended the quarter with $100 billion in cash and marketable securities, and a $47.5 billion backlog.

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Chipmaker Intel joined the OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation as a premier member, bolstering open-source RAN software development for 5G and future 6G networks.

Hosted by the Linux Foundation, the OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation operates as a vendor-neutral collaboration hub.

Its core mission is to establish reference architectures, validation programmes and continuous integration and testing pipelines designed to reduce integration complexity and streamline production rollouts for operators.

Intel’s entry brings technical weight to the initiative, particularly across cloud-native infrastructure, silicon platforms and telecommunications architecture.

Intel plans to contribute technical capabilities to help shape open, standards-based solutions and advance AI-native reference implementations capable of running on software-defined infrastructure.

Arpit Joshipura, GM of networking, edge, and IoT at the Linux Foundation, stated Intel’s leadership in cloud-native systems and telecommunications will bolster ongoing efforts to build an open, interoperable ecosystem, ultimately allowing operators to deploy AI-native open-source RAN solutions faster and with greater confidence as the market shifts from innovation to production.

The foundation’s technical work focuses heavily on the central processing components of open wireless networks: the central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU). By providing a shared, software-defined reference platform built on open-source code, the initiative aims to address multi-vendor interoperability bottlenecks and eliminate the risk of proprietary vendor lock-in.

Intel joins a growing coalition of communication service providers, infrastructure vendors, system integrators and research institutions backing the open-source initiative following its launch earlier this year.

The foundation continues to invite operators and technology partners to participate in its technical working groups and contribute directly to open reference code, accelerating the transition toward scalable, production-ready open RAN deployments.

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Mobile World Live brings you our top three picks of the week as Apple unveiled its device leasing programme, Orange struck a data centre JV deal and Amazon Leo plotted expansion.

Amazon Leo readies 5K satellites for D2D plan

What happened: Amazon Leo applied to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deploy up to 5,105 direct-to-device (D2D) satellites, advancing its ambition to deliver voice, messaging, data and emergency connectivity services to standard mobile devices.

Why it matters: In its FCC filing, Jeff Bezos-backed Amazon Leo explained its D2D system would communicate directly with existing mobile hardware using dedicated L-band and S-band spectrum links, potentially setting the stage to better compete against SpaceX’s Starlink service, among others.

“The newly filed application for Amazon’s next-generation LEO D2D constellation is massive,” said independent consultant Carlos Placido. “Although the system is planned to deploy 5,105 satellites beginning in 2028, the filing defines a total of 11,045 orbital positions.”

Amazon Leo readies 5K satellites for D2D plan

Apple lifts lid on US device leasing service

What happened: Apple fleshed out Apple Upgrade, a direct-to-consumer hardware leasing programme backed by Klarna Group, offering US customers monthly payment options across its iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad product lines.

Why it matters: Apple confirmed the programme offers dual tenure options per category. iPhone and Apple Watch plans offer 12- and 24-month lease terms starting at $17.99 and $11.99 per month, respectively. CEO and marketing director of PP Foresight Paolo Pescatore stated the arrangement responds to rising device prices and longer consumer ownership cycles by shifting focus from high upfront costs to manageable monthly payments, making premium devices feel more accessible and encouraging regular upgrades.

“However, this is more than another payment option,” he said. “It marks a significant shift from owning devices to accessing them through an ongoing leasing relationship. This gives Apple another way to stimulate demand without resorting to aggressive discounting, while keeping customers within its family of products and exerting greater control over the upgrade, trade-in and return cycle.”

On the consumer front, he explained lower monthly payments will be attractive, but the apparent flexibility carries important trade-offs. Customers do not own the product during the lease, AppleCare costs extra, damaged devices can incur charges, and upgrading or leaving early could require them to pay the remaining lease payments.

“The total cost and end-of-term choices must therefore be made crystal clear,” he said. “Otherwise, consumers could find themselves locked into a perpetual cycle of monthly payments without building any ownership or resale value.”

Apple lifts lid on US device leasing service

Orange plots data centre JV with global investor

What happened: Orange agreed a deal with global infrastructure investor Morrison to create a jointly controlled data centre company in France, a move designed to meet rising demand for AI services in the country.

Why it matters: Orange said the 50:50 JV will support the development of its existing French data centre portfolio and target 400MW of capacity, almost 10 times its current level. To boost the entity, the operator said it will contribute five major data centres across four campuses in France, along with its operational expertise and commercial reach. The duo anticipate an investment of around €3 billion, utilising Orange’s existing assets, while Morrison will make an equity contribution.

“Orange Business will leverage this platform for its customers to accelerate its trusted AI and trusted cloud business ambitions,” Orange CEO Christel Heydemann explained on an investor call. “The value creation for Orange will therefore materialise through revenue upsides and dividends inflows.”

Orange plots data centre JV with global investor

The post The Friday File: Amazon Leo; Orange JV; Apple appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Dell’Oro Group revealed mobile operators have spent 208% more on standalone (SA) 5G than they had on 4G core functions at the same point in the technology’s lifecycle.

The company stated the long-term outlook for SA 5G technology is good, despite forecasting growth in the core network sector to moderate over the next two years.

In a report, the company stated the substantial financial commitment on SA 5G highlights the inherent architectural complexity and the broader strategic value of next-generation core networks compared with LTE deployments.

Explaining the timing behind the investments, senior director Sian Morgan noted the sequential release of 3GPP standards created an initial offset between early 5G RAN spending and deployment of SA cores.

Despite those early delays, the technical sophistication of SA 5G “is driving cumulative vendor revenues much higher” than LTE evolved packet core achieved at an equivalent point in its deployment timeline.

Morgan said SA 5G revenue is yet to reach its peak because the majority of mobile operators worldwide have yet to make commercial services widely available to customers.

Dell’Oro noted near-term headwinds as memory shortages drive server prices up, prompting operators to scrutinise project costs.

Morgan predicts a return to double-digit revenue growth in 2028.

Dell’Oro forecast growth in the next five years to be fuelled by the EMEA region. It increased its expectations for 4G core revenue after gains in 2025 and identified AI as providing opportunities to boost efficiency, though warned over potentially higher costs.

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US chip company Marvell Technology committed to invest $250 million in India over the next three years, expanding its facility in Bangalore to drive next-generation technology development.

Marvell stated the pledge coincides with its 20th anniversary in the country, during which it focused on advancing the semiconductor ecosystem and engineering talent.

It established operations in Bangalore in 2006, a site which has since become the company’s second-largest R&D organisation worldwide.

Through the $250 million outlay, Marvell stated it plans to double headcount, scaling up its site in Bangalore and expanding its presence in Hyderabad. It expects the expansion to strengthen its global innovation network, supporting the design and development of advanced semiconductors for AI, cloud and data infrastructure applications.

Navin Bishnoi, VP and India country manager, said the nation plays a critical role in helping Marvell advance infrastructure technologies which power leading global hyperscale companies and cloud providers.

“As we celebrate 20 years in India, we remain committed to expanding R&D investments, strengthening the country’s semiconductor ecosystem and developing the next-generation of technology talent.”

India has made a big push around boosting its semiconductor sector in recent years.

Earlier this month, the government committed to invest around $20 billion to boost chip and smartphone production as part of a long-term goal to become 100% self-reliant.

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GSMA Intelligence estimated the cost of replacing equipment made by so-called high risk vendors (HRV) from telecoms networks in Europe will cost between €30 billion to €40 billion, based on data from operators representing almost half of the market.

In the study, independently commissioned and sponsored by seven operator groups, GSMA Intelligence put the cost of replacing mobile networks at €16 billion to €22 billion, equating to around €30 to €42 per mobile connection. This is driven by high exposure to HRV equipment and the cost of replacing equipment such as base stations.

Fixed network costs will hit up to €5 billion, representing the costs of fibre terminals, gateways and fixed wireless equipment. Transport networks, which includes optical switches, multiplexers and amplifiers will cost between €9 billion and €12 billion.

The figures cover only direct equipment replacement and exclude write-offs of existing assets, disruption cost, capacity constraints and broader impacts on future investment plans.

Higher prices
GSMA Intelligence further warned excluding HRV’s could reduce competitive pressure, leading to a 24% price increase in mobile network equipment, 19% in fixed network equipment and 10% in transport network equipment.

Higher prices would therefore raise operator investment costs by €8.5 billion between 2027 and 2030, with current budgets for mobile networks set at nearly €42 billion.

The European Commission outlined a proposal making it mandatory to “de-risk” European mobile telecoms networks from high-risk third party suppliers in January, as part of revisions to its Cybersecurity Act.

Over a five year period, it estimated phasing out equipment could lead to annual costs of €3.4 billion to €4.3 billion for operators, while investment in “trusted suppliers” could grow up to €2 billion per year.

Operators Deutsche Telekom, Fastweb, MEO, Orange, Telefonica, United Group and Vodafone Group took part in the GSMA Intelligence study, which was based on limited datasets provided by third parties.

The post High risk vendor rip out could cost EU up to €40B appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Ukraine operators Kyivstar, Lifecell and Vodafone switched on their latest open 5G pilot network in capital city Kyiv, the fourth location in the country and their largest 5G testbed to date.

The move follows earlier 5G pilots this year in the cities of Lviv and Kharkiv and the town of Borodyanka.

Borodyanka in particular suffered severe devastation during the Russian occupation in early 2022.

The country’s Ministry of Digital Transformation stated almost 1.5 million Ukrainians have already tested the country’s 5G networks, with peak download speeds of more than 1 Gb/s and averages of 600-700 Mb/s.

5G is operating in two frequency bands: 3500MHz (for high data transmission speeds) and 700MHz (to ensure wider coverage).

More than 300 base stations are supporting the pilot network in Kyiv. It is based on Non-Standalone 5G technology (a 5G RAN using a 4G core network).

The southern city of Odesa is expected to be the next testbed.

It is not clear when commercial 5G services will be activated in Ukraine by the country’s operators but a statement from the Ministry said “Our task now is to qualitatively test 5G technology in order to scale it across the country after the end of martial law.”

According to GSMA Intelligence, 4G accounts for 78 per cent of mobile connections in Ukraine, offering peak download speeds of 1Gb/s.

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Consumer use during off-grid travel was cited as a primary driver in early direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity adoption in Australia and New Zealand by Gartner analysts, who forecast more than 1.5 million connections on the service in 2027 across the nations.

The projected number of low Earth orbit (LEO) D2D connections next year would be up from an expected 673,000 in 2026. In 2025 the figure for the two countries stood at 251,000.

Gartner noted end user spending on the service last year was $5 million. This is expected to hit $23 million this year and reach $66 million in 2027.

The rise in use of the technology in the countries comes during a period of early rollouts and limited functionality, with initial launches restricted to specific handsets, areas and messaging.   

Gartner senior director analyst Khurram Shahzad highlighted early adoption was being driven by use for safety and in recreational pursuits by consumers, but enterprise demand was “steadily increasing for field operations in industries such as mining, agriculture, forestry and transportation” due to the need for continuous connectivity for operations and worker safety.

“Australia and New Zealand are among the early adopters of LEO D2D satellite communications due to the vast remoteness and persistent gaps in terrestrial mobile coverage in both countries,” Shahzad said.

“Adoption is accelerating rapidly as services move beyond early trials and into broader commercial availability, demonstrating how satellite connectivity can extend mobile coverage without the need for traditional infrastructure.”

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Viasat demonstrated what it claimed was the first satellite-enabled voice call integrated into a BMW Group vehicle, as the satellite operator targets a larger role for non-terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity in connected cars.

Showcasing the technology during the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) Meeting Week in Munich, Germany, Viasat used a BMW iX3 Neue Klasse vehicle’s infotainment system to make the call.

The demonstration relied on Viasat’s L-band satellite network and used the NB-IoT protocol, a standards-based technology designed for lower-data-rate communications, to transmit voice.

Viasat used Qualcomm’s automotive connectivity platform, the Snapdragon Auto 5G Modem-RF Gen 2, and German IT research organisation Fraunhofer IIS’ NESC AI-based speech codec to support voice and audio transmission over the satellite network. The technology was integrated into the BMW vehicle’s architecture, allowing the call to be initiated and managed directly through the car interface.

According to Viasat, the trial demonstrated the potential of satellite connectivity to connect drivers and passengers in remote regions and support future automotive applications, including emergency communications, fleet management and messaging in areas with limited cellular availability.

Sandeep Moorthy, senior VP of advanced non-terrestrial solutions at Viasat, said the feat aims “to ensure consistent, resilient satellite capabilities for next-generation vehicles”, adding that “by bringing standards-based NTN to vehicles, we can integrate satellite voice and messaging and ultimately enable a future where drivers can remain connected, wherever the journey takes them”.

Viasat added that future releases could support more advanced services, including 5G New Radio (5G-NR) satellite capabilities, which could enable video streaming and improved interoperability between terrestrial and satellite networks.

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AST SpaceMobile shifted the timeline for reaching its target satellite constellation, moving the milestone from the end of 2026 into early 2027.

The delay was revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulatory filing tied to a $1 billion notes offering and follows a serious setback to one of its two main launch partners

The company stated based on its current expectations around launch availability, its campaign is now targeting approximately 45 BlueBird satellites in orbit by early 2027.

In May, the satellite player targeted approximately the same number of BlueBird satellites in orbit by the end of 2026 after previously projecting 45 to 60 of its next generation birds would launch this year.

In late 2024, AST SpaceMobile signed a multi-launch agreement with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. It previously relied on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets to launch its birds into orbit before attempting to branch out to the larger New Glenn models.

AST SpaceMobile previously predicted an orbital launch cadence of roughly every one to two months in 2026 through deals with multiple launch providers, but New Glenn is no longer an option for this year.

Its multi-provider strategy has been strained since April, when AST lost its BlueBird 7 satellite after a Blue Origin New Glenn launch failed to reach a sustainable orbit.

Analysts previously told Mobile World Live the setback was significant, since New Glenn had been AST’s best launch option for its oversized satellites, and rebuilding that capacity could take a year or more.

The loss of New Glenn as a near-term option appears to have factored into the newly disclosed timeline shift. In the filing, AST SpaceMobile said the timing of future BlueBird launches remains contingent on a number of factors, including completion of satellite assembly and testing, launch vehicle readiness, logistics, and other elements largely outside its control.

The updated timeline accompanied pricing details for AST SpaceMobile’s $1 billion offering of convertible senior notes due 2034, aimed at qualified institutional buyers, with an option for initial purchasers to acquire an additional $150 million.

Offering
Net proceeds are expected to reach roughly $983.6 million, or $1.13 billion if the option is fully exercised, after fees and expenses. The company stated it intends to use the funds to pursue growth initiatives and secure additional access to orbit, “including potential partnerships or acquisitions aimed at further vertically integrating its launch capabilities”.

Tim Farrar, president of TMF Associates, said on X the filing “makes it pretty clear they now intend to buy/invest in a launch provider,” calling it a “fascinating pivot” from expectations AST would direct more capital toward spectrum. He questioned which rocket companies might be available at the right price.

 “What launch provider is for sale that’s ready and able to launch 4,500kg satellites in the near term?”

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India committed to spend an additional INR1.9 trillion ($19.7 billion) on boosting chip and smartphone production in the country, accelerating an initiative first laid out five years ago.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has allocated around INR1.3 trillion to provide state aid for semiconductors and a INR625 billion outlay on smartphones.

The latest investment builds on the Semicon 1.0 initiative outlined in 2021 to invest around INR1 trillion on starting and establishing the country’s semiconductor sector.

In a statement, Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister for Electronics and Information Technology, explained under the refreshed Semicon 2.0, the nation would focus on ensuring chips are being designed in India that can meet all its needs, and by the end of the programme, “we will be 100% self-reliant”.

He added every major industry leader wants to establish a presence in the country “given the growing interest in India’s semiconductor programme”, pointing to partnerships already established with the US, Japan, the European Union (EU), Netherlands, Singapore and Germany.

The minister added the investment and incentives will be aimed at projects around chip design, fabrication of machinery, R&D and talent creation.

Under the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme, Vaishnaw said it would create around 60,000 direct jobs, while it will look to incentivise domestic companies with Chinese suppliers currently dominating the market.

India’s semiconductor advancement adds to similar moves in the US, which has a funding programme in place worth $52 billion. The EU recently unveiled a revamp to its own Chips Act.

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Nokia promised significant hikes in spectral efficiency over the next two years as it launched an AI-native RAN platform which relies heavily on Nvidia systems.

The AI-RAN platform is already capable of boosting spectral efficiency by 20% and Nokia stated gains of 50% and 100% would be delivered in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

It hailed the platform as “one of the most significant shifts in radio network architecture in decades”. It hopes to deliver pilot deployments by the end of the year and commercial availability in 2027.

The platform uses Nokia’s anyRAN software so operators running other network vendor’s equipment today can use it, but the bulk of the services available through Nvidia’s systems are reserved for those already using the Finnish provider’s AirScale range.

A GPU-based AirScale capacity plug-in is pitched “as the most efficient path forward”, for example. It brings Nvidia compute capabilities into current networks, “preserving existing” investments and offering the option to employ chips from Marvell Technology.

Nokia also launched a standalone AI-RAN node employing GPUs which can run on 4G and 5G networks, with forward compatibility to likely 6G infrastructure.

Various configurations are available comprising a one-node deployment, clusters and as part of a single logical base station.

GPUs also form the heart of a commercial off-the-shelf server available from Nokia’s partners which it stated would tackle any supply chain worries.

The vendor followed in rival Ericsson’s footsteps by unveiling a subscription-based model enabling operators to access software-based upgrades to equipment without swapping hardware.

Nokia president and CEO Justin Hotard said AI-RAN “makes the network intelligent” and would help operators maximise the capabilities of their current infrastructure.

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, hailed the step as the dawn of a new era for the telecoms sector as the companies turn “RAN into a planet-scale AI computer”.

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Infrastructure provider Zayo revealed a planned CEO transition with former Verizon executive Sowmyanarayan Sampath (pictured) appointed as chief following the eventual retirement of Steve Smith.

Smith remains CEO until 31 August when he will retire. Sampath will take the reins on 1 September while Smith will remain on Zayo’s board following the handover.

During the transition period, Smith and Sampath will work closely with Zayo’s board and leadership team to ensure continuity for customers and stakeholders.

The company positions the leadership transition as a key element for its next phase of AI-driven growth.

Sampath brings more than two decades of large-scale digital infrastructure experience to his new role, most recently as CEO of Verizon Consumer Group.

After joining the company in 2014, he was viewed as former Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg’s likely successor after holding several key executive positions. Last year the mobile operator’s board of directors picked former PayPal chief Schulman to replace Vestberg to boost the company’s finances and subscribers.

Prior to his last position, he served as the CEO of Verizon Business starting in 2022.

He was also Chief Product Officer for the Consumer and Enterprise businesses and CFO at Verizon Media Group.

Sampath was president of Global Enterprise, where he spearheaded the commercial launch of Verizon’s 5G networks and multi-access edge computing (MEC) solutions.

He stated Zayo’s physical network footprint arrives at a moment when the global economy demands significant bandwidth capacity.

“As AI workloads, distributed applications, dense GPU clusters, and hyperscale environments change where capacity is needed, and as large enterprises manage increasingly complex connectivity needs, the network is the ultimate constraint, and Zayo is built to solve this,” he said, noting the company already connects more data centres in the US than any other provider.

During Smith’s tenure, Zayo more than tripled its planned fibre expansion, with projects now spanning more than 15,000 route miles, while advancing automation, internal AI adoption and network service improvements.

He also oversaw the acquisition of Crown Castle’s fibre and small cell assets, adding approximately 90,000 route miles and 40,000 on-net enterprise locations to Zayo’s network.

“Leading Zayo has been a privilege, and I’m deeply proud of what our team has built as we prepare the Company for the next generation of digital infrastructure,” Smith stated, adding he is confident Sampath is the right leader for Zayo’s next chapter and looks forward to supporting him from the board.

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