US officials have warned Downing Street about the potential risks of allowing Huawei to participate in national 5G networks. The United States has long been cautious about Chinese telecommunications equipment because of concerns that the Chinese state could exert control or use such equipment for surveillance. As 5G becomes integral to critical infrastructure, Washington has … Read more

Despite repeated accusations that China is taking American jobs, the Trump administration softened its position to help preserve operations at ZTE, one of China’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers. Last week Telecoms reported that ZTE had suspended its operations following a U.S. ban. Washington accused the company of violating U.S. export controls and making unauthorized shipments … Read more

T-Mobile has provided an explanation for this week’s outage that affected millions of customers and drew the attention of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. On Monday, T-Mobile customers experienced a major interruption to voice and text services that lasted more than twelve hours. The outage coincided with an unusual surge in downtime reports, prompting some observers … Read more

If you assume only celebrities suffer phone hacks, think again. In November, managers at Oxford-based farming charity RABI were shocked to receive a phone bill of around £2,000. The reason: someone had compromised their telephone system and used it to place calls to premium-rate numbers. The telephone system provider detected suspicious activity almost immediately, but … Read more

The outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus is already affecting supply chains, and the telecommunications industry is no exception. Recent movements in major stock indices demonstrate the immediate economic impact the virus is having. Investors are increasingly worried about disruptions to manufacturing, travel restrictions and the wider consequences for global commerce. Technology companies are especially vulnerable … Read more

SK Telecom and Netflix have resolved their dispute over network usage fees and instead entered a strategic partnership. Under the new agreement, SK Telecom will make it easier for customers to access and pay for Netflix content on mobile devices and IPTV. The companies will offer a variety of pricing options and bundled products, including … Read more

Apple’s new embedded SIM (Apple SIM) offers clear benefits for consumers, but it has provoked mixed reactions from carriers. The eSIM lets users change service providers with a few taps instead of physically swapping a SIM card, making it especially useful for frequent travelers who want quick access to local networks without carrying multiple SIMs. … Read more

The Canadian government raised more than $5.3 billion this month by auctioning spectrum licences to major national telecom companies. In addition to the established incumbents — Rogers, Bell and Telus — the auction opened the possibility for a fourth nationwide carrier to enter the market. The freshly allocated spectrum should strengthen networks, improve data throughput … Read more

The UK government has announced it will investigate Huawei’s role in the country’s critical infrastructure amid cybersecurity concerns similar to those that led the United States to ban the company’s equipment. US authorities concluded that Huawei, along with rival ZTE, had not demonstrated the absence of state or military influence in their operations, prompting restrictions … Read more

By Rob Bamforth, principal analyst, Quocirca Despite nearly a decade of hype and predictions that it would be the next major revolution, M2M (machine-to-machine) still often falls short of expectations. Why is that? Some forecasts project enormous growth and massive market opportunities, but they aren’t always measuring the same things. Some predictions count the number … Read more