Dell’Oro Group reported worldwide telecom capex rose 5% year-on-year in the first half of the year, exceeding expectations following several years of declining investments.

Despite the promising start to the year, Dell’Oro’s long-term outlook remained largely unchanged by forecasting telecom capex growth of up to 1% CAGR through 2030.

Telecom equipment performance continued to closely mirror capex trends. Combined vendor revenue from the six telecom equipment segments monitored by Dell’Oro, comprised of Broadband Access, Microwave Transmission, Optical Transport, Mobile Core Network (MCN), Radio Access Network (RAN), and High-End Router & Aggregation, also increased by about 5% over the same timeframe.

Dell’Oro VP Stefan Pongratz explained operators have greater capacity following the 5G and fibre investment cycles and are gradually redirecting spending from coverage to capacity, modernisation, automation and efficiency.

“At the same time, improving operator revenues are helping to reduce capital intensity ratios even as network investments remain flat,” he stated.

Capital intensity, which peaked at 18% in 2022, is forecast to decline to around 14% in 2028, ahead of increasing slightly as early 6G investment starts.

Overall, telecom equipment revenue is projected to grow at a 2% to 3% CAGR between 2025 and 2030, outpacing CSP capex, partly due to incremental demand from cloud providers.

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A majority of businesses are prioritising edge computing in IoT deployments, with the approach now at a tipping point in terms of delivering tangible benefits, research by Omdia showed.

Principal analyst for IoT John Canali said enterprises’ focus on edge computing is being fuelled by growing interest in using AI and machine learning in their IoT deployments.

He said many are “considering how to adapt their architectures” to enable processing at the edge, as companies seek to improve security, and lower “transmission costs” and latency.

Omdia quizzed 570 executives with organisations across 10 countries, finding 62% are already implementing edge moves and 42% see it as an investment priority.

The research highlighted significant progress, with 78% stating edge IoT deployments had moved beyond pilots. Canali said within the figure, 36% are “at moderator scale and 17%” extensive.

Omdia noted overwhelming satisfaction with edge IoT deployments, with 87% reporting it met or exceeded their expectations.

Most deployments (53%) are at “moderate-to-extensive scale across business units or enterprise-wide”, the company stated.

The edge IoT push is not plain sailing. Omdia found security is the top barrier to scaling deployments throughout an enterprise, with the complexity of integrations and concerns over data privacy or governance also high up the list.

Challenges around integrating with legacy systems were also flagged.

Lack of budget was chosen by 21%, leading Omdia to conclude technical challenges are a greater obstacle to edge IoT deployments than monetary matters.

The research showed some companies remain worried over a lack of IoT skills or a clear business case, with others noting some internal resistance or insufficient backing from senior personnel.

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AT&T, Global Infrastructure Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are creating a fibre joint venture (JV) by combining the Forged Fiber 37 and Gigapower assets, in a boost to the operator’s goal of providing connectivity to more than 60 million locations by 2030.

The JV will operate as a wholesale fibre commercial open access company. The operator stated it will utilise AT&T’s fibre assets and investor capital to expand fibre and 5G services across 16 states, enhancing customer experience with converged connectivity. The JV is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

Forged Fiber 37 is a wholly owned subsidiary created by AT&T to house the mass-markets fibre business, customer relationships, network assets, and build engine which AT&T acquired from Lumen Technologies.

Global Infrastructure Partners is a subsidiary of Black Rock. AT&T and Black Rock formed Gigapower, a wholesale open-access fibre network JV, in 2022.

AT&T will retain 50% ownership of the JV while GIP and CPP Investments will collectively hold the remaining stake.

AT&T CEO John Stankey is bullish on the convergence of fibre broadband and 5G services and has long held wherever it has fibre deployed “it wins”.

Stankey stated fibre is essential in an AI-driven world as demand for symmetrical, high-capacity and low-latency connectivity grows. He added the offering will extend reliable, high-speed fibre to more US consumers, increase AT&T’s scale and service reach and strengthen its position in converged fibre and 5G connectivity.

Last month the operator announced a multi-year fibre and cable deal valued at more than $3 billion with glass-specialist Corning to advance its converged strategy of mobile and broadband services.

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UK regulator Ofcom opened an investigation into Meta Platforms, assessing if the company failed to address the risks posed by its Instagram Instants offering before it launched.

The probe comes five months after the social media giant introduced Instants on Instagram, a feature where content is shared by users and disappears after it has been viewed once.

Ofcom explained it launched a formal investigation to establish if Meta failed to comply with its duties under the UK Online Safety Act by not conducting a suitable and sufficient illegal content risk assessment.

The regulator is also to assess if Meta completed a separate risk assessment for children before the launch.

Ofcom explained the UK Online Safety Act requires technology companies to assess and mitigate the risk of people encountering illegal content.

Platforms likely to be accessed by those under 18 years-old must also be assessed to mitigate the risk of exposure to certain types of harmful materials.

The regulator stated providers must update risk assessments before making any significant changes to the design or operation of their service.

George Lusty, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said its online safety laws are clear.

“This is a vital step that tech firms must take to protect their users. You wouldn’t launch a new car without testing it properly and it’s the same for online services.”

Ofcom will now gather evidence to determine if a breach has occurred.

In March, Ofcom warned technology companies they must apply minimum age rules with highly effective checks on their services or face possible enforcement action.

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Telus and AST SpaceMobile completed an initial integration test between the mobile operator’s terrestrial network and the satellite player’s space-based infrastructure ahead of enabling direct-to-device (D2D) calls and text messages.

Independent analyst Carlos Placido told Mobile World Live southern Canada should have better coverage than other regions due to the inclination of AST SpaceMobile’s satellites.

“They said they would have 45 to 60 satellites in orbit by year-end, but currently have only 12, making that target seem unlikely,” he said.

Canada has large rural areas where terrestrial connectivity is not available which makes D2D services more attractive.

Telus EVP and CTO Nazim Benhadid described the successful test with AST SpaceMobile as an important step towards extending mobile coverage to areas without service, supporting the operator’s goal of providing reliable connectivity to more Canadians.

AST SpaceMobile previously projected 45 to 60 of its next-generation satellites would launch this year but is now targeting having approximately 45 in orbit by early 2027.

The delay was revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing tied to a $1 billion notes offering and follows a serious setback to one of its two main launch partners.

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Physical AI and IoT connectivity platform provider Aeris chose Brazil as the beachhead for a core network tie-up with global mobile infrastructure player Telna intended to create a repeatable deployment scenario in a nation where permanent roaming is restricted.

Aeris is linking namesake IoT accelerator and security systems with Telna’s network, opening the door to what it describes as a nation with great potential in IoT verticals.

The platform provider’s CCO Mark Cratsenberg (pictured) said the arrangement removes barriers for customers seeking business in Brazil by enabling them to employ the “same platform and security they already use worldwide”.

He pitched the move as “another step toward truly borderless connectivity for physical AI and intelligent, mission-critical IoT”.

eSIM plays an important role in making the set up work. Aeris stated zero-touch provisioning enables devices to work in several countries without specific onboarding procedures.

Telna brings Brazilian IMSI profiles to the mix, along with systems Aeris stated would help keep mission-critical traffic “close to the device” when combined with its products, carving into latency levels and unlocking possible uses spanning “autonomous systems, connected vehicles and edge AI”.

The local IMSI’s “are the foundation” of Telna’s connectivity play, founder and CEO Gregory Gundelfinger said.

He hopes the work with Aeris will build custom by simplifying access to Brazil, “one of the world’s most dynamic IoT markets”.

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UAE operator group e& reverted to its original branding of Etisalat, a name it stated reflects its heritage, strategy and ambitions for the AI era.

The company said it was making the name change to mark its 50^th anniversary, explaining the original Etisalat name means “connection” which has guided “what we build and the role we play”.

It rebranded from Etisalat to e& in February 2022, stating at the time the new identity was designed to reflect its ambitions to push from a traditional telecoms company into a global technology and investment conglomerate.

However, the company is now pushing for AI-led growth, launching numerous strategic projects to expand its digital infrastructure in the UAE and beyond.

For example, in July it struck a deal with cloud provider Cloud 42 to launch sovereign AI compute services for its home market, a move it said supports the country’s vision to build an AI-native economy and advance the national agentic AI agenda.

This was followed in September by a deal with Accenture to accelerate digital and AI-led transformation across government and enterprise sectors in the UAE.

In the telco space the company is putting a firm focus on its core business in the Middle East as part of a strategic shift which led to the sale its 16.2% stake in Vodafone Group to tycoon Xavier Niel.

On the rebrand, the company added that today, Etisalat “carries even greater significance as we bring connectivity, digital capabilities and infrastructure together to enable new opportunities”.

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