Telecoms

BT has reorganised its multinational services operation into a dedicated division within the group, fuelling further speculation about its future.

Nokia, Colt, and Honeywell are researching how to protect encrypted data from quantum risks using Low Earth Orbit satellites.

Analyst IDC has decreased its predictions for worldwide smartphone shipments this year, forecasting them to grow 0.6% YoY to 1.24 billion units, citing uncertainty and tariff volatility.

ITRI Establishes a New Office in the UK

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has recently inaugurated its new office in the UK. This establishment marks a noteworthy moment in enhancing collaboration between Taiwan and the UK in the fields of technology and innovation.

Following Three’s installation of 18 Open RAN small cell sites in Glasgow City Centre, the project will now expand that to 34, says Mavenir.

EE and Ontix have installed 80 small cells across the City of Westminster, which support both 4G and 5G traffic for EE customers in central London.

Hello, I’m Dan Kilper, an electronics and engineering professor at Trinity College Dublin. I am also the director of the CONNECT Centre, a large multi-university research centre funded by Research Ireland that studies future networks and communications. 

Numbers from Canalys claim that smartphone shipments into Europe (excluding Russia) declined by 2% in Q1 2025 to 32.4 million units, which the analyst says was largely caused by sluggish entry-level demand.

Vodafone Group Plc (“Vodafone”) and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited (“CKHGT”), a wholly owned subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (“CK Hutchison”), are pleased to announce that the merger of Vodafone UK and Three UK successfully completed on 31 May 2025.

According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center industries, the Optical Transport equipment market declined 1 percent year-over-year in 1Q 2025.

The future of telecoms doesn’t just depend on cutting-edge technology – it depends on people.  As the UK pushes forward with next generation connectivity, from AI powered networks to 6G infrastructure, one challenge looms large: a growing skills gap.

beem is the new cybersecurity solution from Swisscom, specially developed for business customers of all sizes. By directly integrating cybersecurity into its network, Swisscom is setting new global standards. Protection is no longer primarily provided on devices or at company sites, but via the network.

The FCC has voted to look at the possibility of opening up more than 20,000 MHz of underused spectrum for satellite, a move that could prove something of a boon for companies operating from space.

Three UK has successfully completed the first stage of a landmark trial – the UK’s first deployment of Open RAN technology in a dense urban environment. The trial was designed to test the viability of deploying Open RAN in a complex city setting.

Vodafone and chip firm MediaTek say they have reached a milestone by successfully testing 5G uplink speeds of up to 277 Mbps.

Microsoft has announced a new enterprise agentic platform called Microsoft Discovery, which purports to accelerate research times by giving scientists and engineers specialised AI agents to collaborate with.

Juniper Networks and ServiceNow have integrated some tools for a joint network and service automation product which they say is the first of its kind.

New criteria to give certainty to world-class research organisations, helping to attract greater private investment and grow the UK economy.

DySPAN 2025, the premier international conference on spectrum innovation, was held in London from May 12th to 16th at King’s College London.

Hello, I’m Professor Howard Benn, an independent consultant specialising in telecom standards. I retired last year from Samsung, where I was the Vice President of Communications Research, and I previously worked at Motorola. 

Satellite operator AST SpaceMobile has provided a launch update as it inches towards offering consumer services.

Ericsson and UK Connect have teamed up to provide upgraded connectivity solutions to Surrey Search and Rescue, who were previously often relying on paper maps.

O2 has upgraded its mobile network in and around Wembley Stadium ahead of a roster of big sports and music events.

More than 2.5 million people are apparently set to flock to the stadium this summer for events including the FA Cup final, seven Oasis shows and the Dua Lipa O2 Priority gig.

In a UK-first for onboard passenger Wi-Fi; ScotRail has introduced new, Starlink-enabled satellite technology across a rural route in the North of Scotland.