UK operator group VMO2 has released its latest set of financials which show total revenue for 2024 decreased 2.1% YoY to £10,680.5 million, while Q4 total revenue fell 4% YoY to £2,716.2 million.

The latest numbers from analyst firm Omdia reveal what a tough year 2024 was for the radio access networks kit market but look forward to a momentum shift this year.

Omdia has calculated that the total global RAN market (which includes hardware and software but not services) was just over $35 billion last year, which represented a 12 percent decline on the previous year. The good news for RAN vendors is Omdia reckons that decline will end this year and we might even see a tiny bit of growth.

UK firm AccelerComm has launched a new 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) physical layer solution for LEO satellites, which promises to deliver up to 6Gbps and support128 beams and 4,096 users per chipset.

Each LEO satellite can contain multiple chipsets, allowing performance in excess of 20Gbps and 500 beams, we’re told, and the new solution can also be deployed on MEO or GEO constellations. It represents a 30x increase in performance compared to the previous generation, with a roadmap to increase this by more than 400x, apparently.

Spanish operator group Telefónica has set up a secure comms link between two hospitals in Madrid, encrypting it using a quantum key distribution (QKD) system.

The operator, working with hospital group Vithas and technology providers LuxQuanta and QoolNet, plugged the two hospitals together with a quantum fibre optic link, which it says demonstrates the viability of “Quantum-Safe securitisation” of communications, and that it will be possible in the future to guarantee the immunity of sensitive healthcare data from possible attacks from quantum computers.

• Meta is to invest billions in a new submarine network that will span the globe
• It has been dubbed Project Waterworth 
• It will connect the Americas, Africa and Asia – but not Europe

In a bid to guarantee access to vital international data networking capacity to support its AI and cloud traffic, big tech giant Meta is to invest billions of dollars in a subsea cable network, called Project Waterworth

Ofcom has published proposals for upper 6 GHz spectrum to be made available and shared between mobile and Wi-Fi services. The UK is spearheading efforts to explore the sharing of upper 6 GHz by these two different technologies, which should bring benefits to the economy, and has also been promoting this approach internationally.

UKTIN is looking forward to attending next week’s MWC, you can find us in the UK Innovation Pavilion in Hall 7, stand 7B31.

As well as the chance to meet with our Supplier Specialist Guidance Service team and representatives from UKTIN Talent and Clusters, we’ll be demonstrating our R&D Discovery Toolkit, which allows anyone to discover UK telecom research and development effortlessly through an AI-driven search tool, featuring dynamic visualisation and a chat assistant for deep insights and tailored queries.

As the Future Network Programmes conclude, UKTIN is working with DSIT to reflect on the government-funded projects, outlining the key outcomes and the lessons learned to help improve future telecoms initiatives. 

The EU is reportedly cutting back tech regulation in an attempt to boost investments in AI, while the UK’s AI Safety Institute has tellingly changed its name to the UK AI Security Institute.

Infrastructure-as-a-service provider Freshwave has put out a report claiming better indoor mobile connectivity could equate to £70 billion per year across the UK economy.

The firm surveyed 900 C-suite executives and IT decision-makers, and warned that “UK economic growth is at risk due to current indoor connectivity limitations.”