Telia, Nokia and the Finnish Defense Forces have conducted the world’s first standalone 5G slice handover between multiple countries in a live network. The groundbreaking trial demonstrates how 5G is ready to provide mission-critical capabilities for defense and other key sectors.

In the test, carried out in March as part of a Nordic exercise, a continuous and secure data connection was maintained in the slice while moving across three separate networks in three Telia countries.

Today we announce our collaboration with Dexory to provide a warehouse inventory management service. This solution integrates our IoT technology with Dexory's autonomous robots, equipped with AI.

Dexoty robots scan up to 10,000 inventory locations per hour in 3D using optical cameras and LiDAR sensors. Using identifiers, barcodes, and RFID technology, they capture real-time data on items' status, volume, dimensions, and location.

As connectivity becomes crucial for business, industry, and society, the UK's Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) seeks innovative solutions through its Open Network Programmes. These programmes are designed to advance communication technologies by fostering innovation, diversifying the UK’s 5G infrastructure, and preparing for the next generation of mobile networks.

In sum – what you need to know

Private wireless surge – private wireless growth catches Dell’Oro by surprise, as private 4G/5G RAN sales jump by over 40% in 2024, reaching 3-5% of total RAN sales.

Top vendors and trends – Huawei, Nokia, and Ericsson dominate, with Huawei leading in China and total wide-area sales, Nokia leading otherwise and in total in campus-area sales.

Vodafone says it has more than doubled its number of Internet of Things (IoT) connections in the last five years, with a heart monitor becoming the 200 millionth.

The device in question is a healthcare monitor connected by Vodafone to its IoT network which provides doctors with information about a patient’s cardiac health and certain vital signs remotely.

The first of Vodafone’s IoT devices was an in-car window-screen mounted navigation unit which was hooked up in 2009, and more than a quarter of its current fleet of devices are in Germany.

Commercial space infrastructure firm Axiom Space will launch its first two Orbital Data Centre (ODC) nodes to low-Earth orbit (LEO) by the end of this year.

The nodes will “lay the foundation for space-based cloud computing” claims the release. The ODCs will provide cloud-enabled data storage and processing and AI solutions directly to satellites, constellations, and other spacecraft in Earth’s orbit, and can operate independently of terrestrial infrastructure, we’re told.

Axiom says the ODCs will transform space operations, particularly with regards to defence and security.

Hi, I’m Joslyn Knaap, an intern at Dorset Council working on the DONE (Dorset Open Network Ecosystem) project – a DSIT-funded initiative focused on advanced research and development into how cutting-edge technology can transform the rollout of mobile networks in rural areas. I am also a second-year International Relations student at the University of Exeter.

A new study from Juniper Research, the foremost experts in telecommunications, has found operators will increase their annual investment in AI to $22 billion by 2029; rising from $13 billion this year.

Zero Touch

As part of a new Digital Connectivity Forum (DCF) initiative, some of the UK’s largest broadband and mobile connectivity players have signed a joint letter encouraging their suppliers to adopt voluntary minimum standards as part of their efforts to reach climate goals.

The letter was signed by 10 companies from across the UK connectivity sector, a move which represents in aggregate approximately £50bn in annual turnover.

• The low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite sector is hot right now
• Elon Musk’s Starlink in particular has made great strides over the past year
• Now Amazon’s $10bn Project Kuiper is ready to put its first broadband communications satellites into orbit   

Amazon is all set to join the low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications party with the launch of its first full batch of Project Kuiper ‘birds’ into orbit on 9 April, a move  that marks “an important step in its mission to deliver fast, reli