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Mobile network operator Vodafone UK has significantly increased the bundled 4G data allowances (mobile broadband) on several of their SIM Only Basics plans for new customers. For example, the cheapest entry-level package will now give you 21GB (GigaBytes) of data for just £7 per month (up from 6GB).

The operator’s Basics plans also come with unlimited UK minutes and texts on a 12-month minimum term. Otherwise, you’ll now get 80GB for £8 (up from 50GB), 90GB for £10 and 100GB for just £12 a month (up from 70GB). Just remember that the price will increase by £1 (monthly) from April 2026.

Take note that Vodafone still make the Basics plans quite hard to find on their website (here’s a direct link) – they don’t even display them on their SIM Only deals page. The Basics plans are designed to be very simplistic and don’t include any support for 5G services (only 4G etc.). 

Vodafone does occasionally change their mobile plans, although they haven’t stated how long the new offers will run.

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The European Commission (EC) recently published their annual 2025 study of broadband coverage in Europe, which reveals how the EU’s fixed gigabit broadband (FTTP and Hybrid Fibre Coax) and 5G mobile networks compare across all of its 27 countries. We compare this with the United Kingdom below.

The EU’s main target for digital infrastructure, which remains very similar to the UK’s, is for every European household to have access to “high-speed internet” (downloads of 100Mbps+) coverage by the end of 2025 and gigabit (1000Mbps+) connectivity by the end of 2030. The new report, which is largely based on data from last year (mid-2024), is intended to help gauge the progress toward achieving those goals.

The EU’s Broadband and Mobile Targets (“Digital Decade“)

The current vision for 2025 relies on three main strategic objectives:

➤ Gigabit connectivity for all of the main socio-economic drivers;

➤ uninterrupted 5G coverage for all urban areas and major terrestrial transport paths;

➤ access to connectivity offering at least 100 Mbps for all European households.

The ambition of the Digital Decade is that by 2030:

➤ all European households are covered by a Gigabit network (e.g. DOCSIS 3.1 + FTTP);

➤ all populated areas are covered by 5G (at least).

By comparison, the UK’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme currently aims to extend gigabit-capable broadband to reach 99% of UK premises by 2032 (recently delayed from the original goal of 2030). The public funding for this is focused upon aiding the final 10-20% of hardest to reach premises, where commercial deployments may struggle.

According to Ofcom’s latest data to January 2025 (here), some 98% of UK premises can access a 30Mbps+ (“superfast“) connection (up from 97% last year), while 86% (up from 80%) are able to access gigabit broadband (via FTTP and DOCSIS 3.1+) and that falls to 74% (up from 62%) when only looking at “full fibre” FTTP. Take note that, in the UK, DOCSIS 3.1 largely reflects Virgin Media’s urban Hybrid Fibre Coax (cable) network.

As for mobile networks, over 99% of UK premises (outdoor) have access to 4G (unchanged) and between 92-96% of premises can access 5G from at least one operator (up from 85-92%) – falling to just 22-44% in outdoor 5G areas where all four operators exist (up from 16-28%). However, it’s important to stress that the EU’s comparative data below is about 6 months older than Ofcom’s data above.

Overall, the EU is now in a roughly similar sort of place to the United Kingdom, with total FTTP coverage of 69.24% (up from 64% last year), gigabit (VHCN) broadband coverage of 82.49% (up from 78.8%) and 5G population coverage of 94.35% (up from 89.3%). But we do have to remember that quite a few EU states have been building FTTP, at scale, for 5-10 years longer than the UK, although we’re clearly now catching up and even exceeding quite a few countries.

The main focus of the EU’s report is clearly on 5G and gigabit / VHCN (FTTP + DOCSIS 3.1) coverage, with the differences between EU states and the UK becoming much clearer in these areas once we drill down to the individual country level. In both cases, the UK would now reside somewhere around the middle of the tables below.

The other thing to consider is the split between rural and urban coverage. In the UK, some 57% of rural premises have access to a gigabit-capable broadband network, which drops to 55% for FTTP. By comparison, gigabit (VHCN) coverage of rural areas in the EU stands at 61.89%, with FTTP at 58.78%.

The full report contains a lot more data.

Broadband Coverage in Europe 2025 (State of Digital Decade)
https://digital-decade-desi.digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/datasets/desi/charts

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The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) in North East England, which covers several council areas (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees), has signed a new deal with digital mapping specialists Inakalum to deploy special kit on local bin lorries (refuse collection trucks) to map local 4G and 5G mobile (broadband) coverage.

The idea of harnessing refuse collection trucks to help map mobile network coverage and data speeds is not a new one. Streetwave have been doing it across a large part of the UK for the past couple of years. But today’s news marks the first time we’ve seen Inakalum adopt a similar approach, which involves sticking Smartphones installed with special monitoring software on top of the vehicles and taking measurements as they go about their routes.

The collected data, which will examine all four of the major mobile networks (EE, O2 and Vodafone / Three UK), will then be used to create the “most detailed and accurate picture yet” of mobile phone coverage across Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees.

The results from this will help the TVCA to both identify any areas of poor reception for future improvement and to provide a new Tees Valley Mobile Coverage Checker, which should help local residents, businesses and public services understand signal quality in their area.

Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, said:

“We’re already delivering on jobs, investment and regeneration — and now we need to go further to tackle digital blackspots that hold back people and businesses.

Whether you’re on a farm in East Cleveland or running a business in Darlington, decent signal shouldn’t be a luxury – it should be the bare minimum.

If we want to build on our potential as a digital powerhouse, we need to make sure everyone is properly connected.”

In addition to bin wagons, the TVCA has the option to expand the surveys using other vehicles — or even survey on foot — to target key locations, events, or rural communities where signal performance is a known issue. Residents and local groups are now being encouraged to get in touch and express an interest if there are specific areas or upcoming events that could benefit from additional mobile signal mapping.

At the time of writing, we don’t know when the first survey will be completed and the new map made available, although it will be interesting to see whether this is able to go beyond previous efforts by similar companies.

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The Scottish Government (SG) has today revealed that more than 80,000 premises have now benefitted from their £697m Reaching 100% (R100) project with Openreach (BT), which is rolling out full fibre (FTTP) broadband to remote rural areas. Some 27,000 premises of this have been delivered over the past year, which is up from 20,000 the year before.

Just to recap. The R100 scheme originally aimed to reach another 113,000 premises – split across three contracts – in areas that lack access to “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) by March 2028. LOT 1 (North Scotland and the Highlands) is expected to cover around 61,000 premises by 2027/28, while LOT 2 (Central Scotland) was due to reach 32,000 by 2023/24 and LOT 3 (Southern Scotland) targeted 22,000 by 2024/25.

According to today’s update, R100’s rate of delivery is now exceeding the SG’s Programme for Government commitment by more than a third. Connections have been made right across the country, from the Killantringan Lighthouse in Dumfries and Galloway to Stornoway in the Western Isles and Baltasound on Shetland.

The update also confirms that “80% of all R100 contract build” has taken place in rural areas (we assume the other 20% to be more focused upon poorly served suburban areas). We’ve pasted a more detailed summary of the progress below.

Just for some wider context. At the end of 2024 around 80% of premises in Scotland could access a gigabit-capable (1Gbps download) broadband ISP network and this falls to 65.5% when only looking at FTTP technology (here). Ofcom predicts (here) that Scotland’s full fibre (FTTP) coverage will reach around 92-94% by May 2027 and gigabit-capable broadband (FTTP + Hybrid Fibre Coax / cable) should deliver 94% by that same date.

Business Minister, Richard Lochhead, said:

“Fast, reliable broadband is a fundamental building block for economic growth. The Scottish Government’s R100 programme is one of the most ambitious and complex digital infrastructure programmes in Europe, rolling out connections in some of the most challenging locations in the country to help businesses and communities prosper.

Despite telecommunications being reserved to the UK Government, our commitment to the R100 programme illustrates this government’s commitment to delivering the digital connectivity people and businesses need to succeed.

Exceeding our 2024-25 delivery target was helped by record Scottish Government funding and an ongoing partnership with Openreach maximising the opportunities to deliver fast broadband to even more homes and businesses.”

Robert Thorburn, Openreach Partnership Director for Scotland, said:

“It’s brilliant to see businesses like the Steamship Sir Walter Scott benefitting from full fibre. We’re committed to making sure that the hardest-to-reach homes and businesses in Scotland are connected to the latest generation of broadband technology, giving them access to the same fast, reliable services available in our cities.

While building new full fibre networks in rural areas throws up many challenges, our engineers have the skills and experience to overcome these and deserve an enormous amount of credit for their work. We’re proud of the role we’ve played, working alongside the Scottish Government, in hitting this significant milestone – but we know that our work isn’t done yet, and we’ll continue to connect communities across the country.”

The R100 work is still ongoing and we should add that Openreach (BT) has also recently secured the £157m state aid supported Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contract for Scotland (Call off 6), which will extend FTTP to an additional 65,000 premises in remote rural areas (here). A couple of smaller Project Gigabit contracts for Scotland are also still in the procurement phase.

Take note that the R100 budget also covered some related efforts, such as the deployment of new subsea fibre links to help reach various remote Scottish isles, and funding for the complementary voucher scheme etc.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Telefónica Tech will incorporate the Wiz security platform into its cloud security services portfolio and offer professional services to help organizations protect everything created and run in multi-cloud environments

Telefónica Tech, Telefónica’s digital business unit, has formed a strategic alliance with Wiz, a leader in cloud security, to facilitate the adoption and secure management of multi-cloud environments by organisations in the Spanish market.

Through this alliance, Telefónica Tech will integrate Wiz’s cloud security platform into its portfolio to offer customers its incident detection and response capabilities. In addition, it will provide professional services to accompany customers throughout the process, from initial implementation to continuous 24/7 monitoring, with the aim of ensuring uninterrupted protection of applications when moving them to the cloud.

Wiz is a comprehensive cloud security platform (CNAPP) that provides complete visibility into cloud environments, identifying critical risks and vulnerabilities. It enables organisations’ development and security teams to proactively protect applications from the code phase to execution in the cloud. Its ability to contextualise threats helps to efficiently prioritise and remediate the most important issues, blocking unauthorised access and improving security posture.

With this new alliance, Telefónica Tech is expanding its cloud security services to continue contributing, on the one hand, to simplifying security management in multi-cloud environments, which is the strategy chosen by most organisations to gain efficiency and increase the development of use cases, and, on the other hand, to preventing security issues from being one of the main barriers to faster multi-cloud adoption in the business environment.

Alberto Sempere, Director of Services, Innovation and Partnerships at Telefónica Tech, said: “The alliance with Wiz allows us to complement our cloud security services offering in the current context, marked by the massive adoption of artificial intelligence, and offer customers an automated platform with which to optimise the protection of their assets hosted in the cloud and the prevention of cyberattacks.”

Tomás Carbonell, Vice President EMEA and LATAM at Wiz, said: “It is an honour to consolidate this alliance between Wiz and Telefónica Tech at a key moment for the industry, marked by the rise of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and the accelerated adoption of the cloud. This collaboration allows us to offer organisations in Europe and LATAM a unique value proposition, combining Telefónica Tech’s local expertise with Wiz’s technology to protect everything that is built and run in the cloud. More than 50% of Fortune 100 companies already trust us, and we are ready to expand that impact in the region.”

Also in the news:
SWR deploys Europe’s first ’Rail-5G’ Wi-Fi  
BT accelerates fibre rollout amid cost cuts
AT&T agrees $5.75 billion deal for Lumen’s consumer fibre asset

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News

The Japanese conglomerate has invested $15 million in US-based startup Sceye, which plans to build airships carrying radio communication equipment

Today, SoftBak has announced ambitious plans to begin offering pre-commercial High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) services in Japan in 2026 through a new partnership with US startup Sceye.

HAPS is an emerging form of non-terrestrial communication, using unmanned vehicles flying in the stratosphere to deliver connectivity to those on the ground below.

Sceye’s solutions takes the form of a large silver airship filled with helium. This unmanned platform can remain in position for long periods of time, delivering connectivity as well as climate data.The company has reportedly completed over 20 successful test flights in collaboration with various private businesses, as well as with the US government.

The deal will see SoftBank take a $15 million stake in Sceye, resulting in the startup being valued at roughly $580 million.

SoftBank has long been a major proponent of HAPS for years, beginning its own HAPS project in 2017. The most notable result of this research has been the creation of Sunglider, the world’s largest solar-powered, uncrewed aircraft system, developed in partnership with AeroVironment. Sunglider performed its first test flight last year.

SoftBank has also previously explored alternative inflatable HAPS devices, with their subsidiary HAPS Mobile having been one of the major backers of Alphabet’s doomed Project Loon. The project was ultimately closed down in 2021, with the path to commercialisation having proved more difficult and expensive than anticipated.

Today, SoftBank says it hopes to use a combination of both lighter-than-air (LTA) HAPS, like Sceye’s balloon, and heavier-than-air (HTA) solutions, like Sunglider, to provide reliable connectivity for drones and UAVs, as well as for disaster relief.

“As a global pioneer, SoftBank has been developing HAPS-based services since 2017. In addition to our research and development for HTA-type HAPS, I’m extremely pleased we’ll be launching LTA-type HAPS pre-commercial services in 2026 through our new partnership with Sceye,” said Junichi Miyakawa, President & CEO, SoftBank. “The stratospheric-based, wide area telecommunications of HAPS will play a key role in expanding network area coverage to areas that are difficult to reach with existing mobile network infrastructure, and it will also provide a means of restoring communications when large-scale disasters strike.”

HAPS have many attractive features for telecoms operators. Like satellites, they offer broad coverage of areas typically hard to reach with terrestrial connectivity. However, unlike satellites, HAPS operate far closer to the end customer, making it easier to offer higher quality connectivity with lower latency. They can also typically be deployed at relatively short notice, making them an excellent way solution for boosting connectivity when terrestrial networks are damaged or overwhelmed, such as during natural disasters.

But despite these many prospective benefits, commercial use cases for HAPS have been few and far between. These projects face a myriad of regulatory and technical challenges, from energy storage to performance during poor weather.

Nonetheless, numerous major operators continue to explore this space, including NTT Docomo, BT, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Telefonica and Orange.

Also in the news:
SWR deploys Europe’s first ’Rail-5G’ Wi-Fi  
BT accelerates fibre rollout amid cost cuts
AT&T agrees $5.75 billion deal for Lumen’s consumer fibre asset

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HANOVER, Md. / MADRID, Spain – June 25, 2025 – Telxius, a leading global connectivity provider, and Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) recently completed a key milestone and industry first—a 1.3 Tb/s single wavelength transmission carried out across Telxius’ 6,600km Marea submarine cable between Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Bilbao, Spain.

Powered by Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) technology, the companies also achieved the highest-ever spectral-efficiency transmission across the Atlantic, reaching a record-setting 7.0bits/s/Hz.

“We are committed to continually upgrading our network with new and enhanced systems to better support our customers,” said Carlos Dasi, CTIO, Telxius. “With advancements like Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme, deploying more capacity in the most efficient way possible is now a reality. This latest milestone demonstrates our ability to deliver that capacity across even the vastest of distances in today’s bandwidth-hungry digital economy.”

“This achievement with Telxius is the latest in a series of Ciena industry-firsts in coherent optics,” said Thomas Soerensen, Vice President, Global Submarine Solutions, Ciena. “WL6e will help Telxius provide high-capacity, diverse, and low-latency routes across the Atlantic, and will enable it to stay ahead of the evolving needs of its customers as demand for AI, content, video, and cloud applications continues to grow.”

Ciena’s WL6e is the industry’s first high-bandwidth coherent transceiver using state-of-the-art 3nm silicon to drive significant economic benefits for operators, including a 50% reduction in space and power per bit. Telxius plans to deploy WL6e in selected submarine systems across its vast network throughout this year and beyond.

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Fort Lauderdale, FL, June 3rd, 2025— Beesion, the pioneer in BSS Low-Code software, announces the renewal of its agreement with On Net Fibra for the Beefiber BSS/OSS 360° platform. This extension highlights the trust On Net Fibra places in Beesion’s solutions and reflects a shared commitment to innovation and operational excellence.

Beefiber BSS/OSS 360° has supported On Net Fibra in enhancing its operational efficiency by addressing its unique needs and simplifying the management of complex processes. The platform’s customization capabilities have allowed for alignment with On Net Fibra’s specific requirements, ensuring smooth integration and consistent performance. This renewal also represents a continued collaboration to explore opportunities for further strengthening On Net Fibra’s technological architecture.

In a landscape where efficiency and reliability are paramount, On Net Fibra has leveraged Beefiber BSS/OSS 360° to enhance operations and deliver superior service. This contract renewal is a testament to the robust collaboration and mutual trust between our organizations, as we continue to support the industry with pioneering solutions.
 

About On Net Fibra

On Net Fibra is the largest provider of neutral fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity services in Colombia. Operating an open-access network, the company enables telecommunications operators to deliver high-performance internet services through its robust fiber optic infrastructure. Currently, On Net Fibra reaches over 4.6 million homes across 92 Colombian cities, benefiting approximately 13.5 million people. Its mission is to promote access to quality internet, driving opportunities, development, and progress nationwide.

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Press Release

Commuters will soon be able to work seamlessly and stay connected with loved ones as the Transport Secretary lands a landmark deal to eliminate mobile blackspots on Britain’s busiest rail routes.

The breakthrough agreement will transform daily journeys for millions of passengers who currently face the frustration of dropped calls and interrupted streaming on key routes between London, Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff.

The deal, named Project Reach and signed today (26 June 2025) between Network Rail, and telecoms companies, Neos Networks and Freshwave marks the end of passengers having to pause important work calls or cut short conversations with family members when trains enter notorious signal blackspots.

The project’s innovative commercial model brings together public and private sector investment and infrastructure and is expected to save taxpayers around £300 million while creating a high-performing digital connectivity backbone for businesses, supporting the UK’s digital ambitions.

Project Reach will initially see Neos Networks deploy 1,000 kilometres of ultra-fast fibre optic cable along the East Coast Main Line, parts of the West Coast Main Line and the Great Western Main Line, with ambition to expand beyond 5,000 kilometres in the near future.

In addition to this, Freshwave will tackle signal blackspots in 57 tunnels, covering almost 50 kilometres, including the 4-kilometre-long Chipping Sodbury tunnel near Bristol.

As part of the deal, mobile network operators will also invest in new 4G/5G infrastructure at 12 of the biggest Network Rail stations across the country including Birmingham New St, Bristol Temple Meads, Edinburgh Waverley, Euston, Glasgow Central, King’s Cross, Leeds, Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Paddington and Waterloo.

Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport, said:

“This is a game changer for passengers up and down the country and will revolutionise journeys from Paddington to Penzance and Edinburgh to Euston.

By boosting connectivity and tackling signal blackspots, we are also ensuring a more reliable and efficient service.

This means better journeys for passengers while supporting our broader Plan for Change goals of economic growth and digital innovation.”

This is a multi-year project with the first installation of mobile infrastructure expected to begin in 2026 and fully rolled out by 2028.

The enhanced network will also enable better monitoring of railway assets and facilitate new technologies that rely on improved connectivity, paving the way for more reliable train services and improved safety for railway workers.

Jeremy Westlake, Network Rail’s Chief Financial Officer, said:

“I’m delighted that we have now signed this innovative deal with our partners Neos Networks and Freshwave.

This investment model will deliver the necessary upgrades to our telecoms infrastructure faster whilst offering significant value-for-money for the taxpayer and stimulating wider economic benefits across the country.

As we move towards becoming a unified railway with the formation of Great British Railways, the enhanced telecoms infrastructure will play a key role in our ambition to provide a data-driven railway of the future, delivering better connectivity and a better, more reliable train service for our passengers.”

Lee Myall, CEO of Neos Networks, said:

“Project Reach will support the upgrade of the UK’s connectivity infrastructure, creating new data superhighways that will drive the UK’s digital ambitions forward.”

Jacqueline Starr, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Rail Delivery Group, said:

“We know how much customers value good mobile connections when they travel and we’re delighted that a digitally connected railway will soon become a reality. Travelling by rail drives economic growth by connecting businesses and communities, improving productivity, and supporting the transition to net zero.

This vital upgrade to telecoms across the network will give everyone the opportunity to stay connected, wherever they’re headed.”

This partnership marks a major stride towards improved performance and better services for passengers as part of Great British Railways, as the Transport Secretary continues to deliver the government’s Plan for Change with a more connected, efficient, and passenger-focused railway fit for the future.

It also builds on £41 million confirmed in the government’s National Infrastructure Strategy to introduce low-earth-orbit satellite connectivity on all mainline trains, significantly improving both the availability and internet data connection speeds for wifi connected passengers.

How is the UK’s telecoms market changing in 2025? Join the industry in discussion at Connected Britain, the UK’s largest digital economy event

Also in the news:
SWR deploys Europe’s first ’Rail-5G’ Wi-Fi  
BT accelerates fibre rollout amid cost cuts
AT&T agrees $5.75 billion deal for Lumen’s consumer fibre asset

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Mobile operator Vodafone is working with the Photonics and Radiofrequency Research Lab at the University of Málaga (Spain) to develop a new computer chip design, which can help to direct a wireless mobile signal straight to a user’s smartphone using microwave photonics (i.e. optical beamforming to process, steer, and precisely focus mobile traffic).

At present, most mobile networks work by sending their signals to devices (Smartphones etc.) over wireless radio waves via a radio unit, such as a base station or small cell. The radio unit contains an electronic computer chip to help govern all this. But the researchers are now developing prototype silicon chip designs, based on microwave photonics technology, which uses light instead of electricity to control and direct a mobile signal.

Two prototypes are currently being developed by the team. The initial prototype involves a passive chip as part of the preliminary Proof-of-Concept (PoC) work. Subsequently, an enhanced active chip will be developed to replace the current beamforming component within a radio unit.

Vodafone claims that a future fully functional active and commercial ready optical beamforming chip could be capable of operating with up to 32 small radio antennas integrated into a single mast, with each antenna being individually controlled. “This configuration enables flexible and precise steering of the light beam to multiple users, improving performance and lowering energy consumption“, while still being very compact.

Vodafone Statement

This new process, known as advanced optical beamforming, takes advantage of light properties to process, steer, and precisely focus mobile traffic, such as video streaming sessions, to the user with pinpoint accuracy.

While some mobile masts are already equipped with beamforming technology to direct a signal towards a specific area instead of broadcasting it more broadly, the incorporation of photonics provides a significant advantage. It will provide a greater degree of accuracy, reducing signal loss and limiting interference from other frequencies.

Other benefits include improved energy efficiency and greater capacity to support many users without scrimping on the quality of service. A stronger, stable signal also means a device uses less power to stay connected, preserving battery life.

This collaboration is part of an associated project awarded to Vodafone under the European Commission’s Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) Programme, supported by the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism. Microwave photonic technology is emerging at an ideal time to benefit next-generation 5G-Advanced and future software-driven 6G networks. It is also better equipped for handling higher radio frequencies compared with current electronic systems.

Assuming all goes well, then Vodafone plans to publish a blueprint for photonic radio unit chips for mobile base stations within the next 2 years. The main objective of all this is to offer customers “continuous streaming services without buffering, even in crowded areas” (e.g. shopping centres). But it could also help in various other low latency, high bandwidth industrial applications, such as direct-to-device satellite communication systems and advanced radars etc.