T-Mobile has achieved the world’s first six-carrier aggregation call using sub-6 GHz spectrum on its live 5G production network. In collaboration with Ericsson and Qualcomm, T-Mobile aggregated six 5G component carriers to reach peak speeds above 3.6 Gbps—fast enough to download a two-hour high-definition movie in under seven seconds. “We are thrilled to have achieved … Read more

The outdoor small cell market is poised to become an essential component of mobile networks, according to new analysis from iGR. The report finds that the primary obstacles to expanding outdoor small cell deployments are not technical limitations but practical installation challenges: power availability, backhaul connectivity, regulatory hurdles, deployment timelines, and overall expense. Small cells … Read more

When Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen enters the European Commission’s Brussels headquarters later this year to present the Digital Networks Act, she will be carrying what amounts to Europe’s digital declaration of independence. Unlike historic political declarations, this one is packed with implementation timetables, detailed impact assessments and regulatory complexity likely to keep Silicon Valley lawyers … Read more

T-Mobile and Ericsson have completed the first standalone 5G data session in the United States. Most current 5G deployments in the U.S. use a non-standalone (NSA) architecture, which relies on an existing LTE connection for control functions. Although NSA 5G delivers higher speeds and improved performance compared with LTE alone, a standalone (SA) 5G architecture … Read more

The UK Government has issued legal directions to telecoms operators requiring the removal of Huawei equipment from national communications networks. In 2020, the government announced that Huawei hardware must be phased out of the country’s 5G networks by 2027, and operators were prohibited from buying Huawei equipment after 31 December 2020. “This has not been … Read more

CityFibre has awarded its first round of construction contracts to build partners under the UK Government’s Project Gigabit programme. Project Gigabit is a £5 billion initiative designed to bring full-fibre broadband to 715,000 rural properties, ensuring communities currently underserved by legacy networks gain access to high-speed, future-proof connectivity. CityFibre’s appointed build partners for this initial … Read more

The Small Cell Forum (SCF) has launched an Enterprise Advisory Council (EAC) to strengthen collaboration with businesses and institutions and address the persistent problem of poor cellular coverage in commercial and public spaces. Founding EAC members include commercial real-estate advisors Camden Living and CBRE, automaker General Motors, Grange Hotels, healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente, Marriott International, … Read more

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/graphicnoi) Mobile industry analysts at Chetan Sharma report that in the first quarter of 2016 more cars were added to U.S. mobile networks than new phones. According to Sharma’s research, nearly a third of new connections—32%—were vehicles, while phone activations closely followed at 31%. Tablets accounted for 23% of new connections and M2M … Read more

EE has significantly expanded its mobile coverage across London’s rail network in anticipation of increasing commuter and traveller numbers. The UK’s largest mobile operator has deployed nearly 70 new 4G sites across key rail routes in London, with plans for hundreds more to follow. Improvements have been made on seven sections of the London Euston … Read more

A joint study by Nokia and Telefónica found that 5G networks can be up to 90% more energy-efficient than 4G, highlighting the potential for significant reductions in power consumption as operators roll out next-generation mobile networks. The three-month study measured power usage across Telefónica’s 5G Radio Access Network (RAN). Measurements were taken across traffic load … Read more