Hello, I’m Matthew Key, and I’ve worked in the telecoms sector for around 25 years. Previously, I worked at BT, where I gained a lot of contacts, and now I am an independent consultant, under the umbrella of Ideas Crucible. 

We help raise venture funding for early-stage start-up companies, covering a range of sectors. Telecoms is a crucial area for us. I joined the industry after finishing my MBA in the broadband strategy group at BT, when broadband was in its infancy. I built from there, experiencing the innovation and commercial side. 

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket has delivered into orbit the first 27 low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation.

The rocket carrying the Kuiper-1 mission lifted off yesterday from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, kicking off Amazon’s play into the space comms sector.  

EU Commissioner visits London as UK researchers and businesses get access to more Horizon Europe funding calls for quantum and space research

On 24–25 April 2025, the 3GPP - O-RAN ALLIANCE joint workshop brought together experts from across the telecom ecosystem at ETSI Headquarters for a focused exchange on coordination for 6G.

Kit vendor Ericsson will inject €200 million over the next three years into its Athlone facility in central Ireland, in order to research open network management and automation capabilities for 5G.

The benefits of open programmable networks are pitched as “enabling communications service providers (CSPs) to improve operational efficiency, as well as accelerating the global deployment and value generation of 5G Standalone (SA) connectivity through differentiated offerings.” The latter of which presumably means make some more money.

The European Commission is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to its clamp-down on US Big Tech.

It has just imposed fines on Apple and Meta of €500 million and €200 million respectively after they were found to have breached the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Apple has been done for restricting app developers from informing users about alternatives to Apple's App Store – breaching its so-called anti-steering obligation.

UK comms regulator Ofcom has closed a loophole that can allow fraudsters to manipulate mobile networks.

“Global Titles enable information to be exchanged within and between networks, so that mobile services work regardless of whether a user is in their home network or roaming,” says the GSMA. It goes on to explain that the practice of leasing these Global Titles gives third parties access to the global SS7 network, which in turn reduces routing transparency and creates security risks. It doesn’t explain why such a risky practice has been allowed.

South Korean authorities have launched a probe into a cyberattack on SK Telecom (SKT) that exposed customers' SIM-related data.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) said it has sent experts to SKT to provide technical support, analyse the cause of the incident, and mitigate its impact.

"Considering the seriousness of the incident, including the leak of personal information, the damage status, and security vulnerabilities, the MSIT formed an emergency response team headed by the Cyber Security and Network Policy bureau of the MSIT," the ministry said.

Chip firm Intel and Arqit Quantum, which specialises in quantum-safe encryption, have launched a security solution in which even they “are outside the trust boundary.”

The solution uses Intel Trust Domain Extensions (Intel TDX) and Arqit NetworkSecure, and beefs up the security of Arqit’s quantum-resistant crypto key delivery system. The release uses the term confidential computing to describe the result, which can “elevate security to the next level”, we’re told.

Rakuten Mobile and AST SpaceMobile have announced the completion of what they say is the first-ever broadband video call between unmodified smartphones in Japan using a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite.