Markus noted fine-tuned SMLS are key for unlocking value in mature agentic offerings and stated businesses “will understand the importance of their own data in driving AI value”.

“The large language and reasoning models will often handle the master control of an agentic workflow, but the purpose-built SLMs very adequately deliver the required accuracy and efficiency when trained for their dedicated job within the agentic workflow,” he explained.

Markus provided several AI-related predictions for next year in a blog post, all of which are largely due to the combination of AI agents and AI-fuelled coding.

He stated AI-fuelled coding will be the next major methodology for developers, enabling them to cut development phases from weeks to minutes.

“With AI-fuelled coding, developers will start to wear multiple hats in the lifecycle, from product owners to architects, reducing cycle times and time to operation,” Markus stated.

It also helps non-technical teams to develop apps by using plain language prompts to build software prototypes.

Internally, AT&T has used AI coding to curate data products withing 20 minutes while also training it to “adhere to our rigorous code discipline for quality, security and compliance”.

On-demand apps
Also on the 2026 horizon, businesses will start to build on-demand apps supported by AI agents.

“AI-fuelled coding dramatically accelerates software development cycles, making it feasible for a company to build on-demand apps,” Markus said. “Autonomous agents can even independently adapt to new requirements, making redevelopment faster than traditional app cycles.”

He stated while traditional apps will remain, they will be supplemented by agile, AI-driven offerings.

Mobile operators will also offer more AI services, such as fine-tuning, to enterprise customers. Markus noted operators have a long history of working with cloud providers and AI software companies, “giving us a strong foundation in AI services like fine-tuning”.

His last prediction is metrics for AI accuracy, cost and speed will become the focus across every business sector.

“It’s not enough to use AI tools. They have to use them well, with measurable AI results. Accuracy is what drives value, and optimisation is what’s needed for generative and agentic AI to measure up across any use case,” he said.

The post AT&T data chief outlines top AI trends for 2026 appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The operator filed its response in a federal court on 8 December. T-Mobile stated the challenge to Easy Switch is irrelevant because it removed a function scraping AT&T customer data four days before the rival initiated its legal action.

AT&T had argued the data was being accessed to encourage customers to switch providers.

T-Mobile stated since ending the scraping, “Easy Switch has only allowed AT&T customers to upload a copy of their wireless bill or manually enter their wireless plan information”.

“AT&T does not allege that this current version of Easy Switch is unlawful or harms it, let alone irreparably so.”

T-Mobile deployed a beta version of Easy Switch at the Formula 1 Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix on 20 November.

Easy Switch is an AI tool which analyses current AT&T or Verizon accounts before recommending optimal T-Mobile plans. It went live on 1 December.

AT&T sought a temporary restraining order to prevent T-Mobile using a price comparison tool to access secure software without permission.

It implemented security measures to block the access on 24 November.

After AT&T’s countermeasures, T-Mobile disabled the original Easy Switch for its customers on 26 November and replaced it with the current version.

On 5 December, T-Mobile’s counsel told AT&T it “does not intend to revert to the original version of Easy Switch”.

Backed down
T-Mobile’s lawyers stated it dropped the original version because of “AT&T’s dogged efforts to technologically block its customers from taking advantage of the feature and thereby impede their ability to compare the companies’ offerings”.

“These facts resolve the motion.”

“The conduct AT&T challenges is not occurring and AT&T has not objected to the operation of Easy Switch in its current form.”

An AT&T representative told Mobile World Live it appreciates T-Mobile saying it “will stop recklessly scraping customer data for now”.

“We ask that they commit, on the record, to never employing these unlawful tactics that put customers and intellectual property rights at risk again.”

The lawsuit is scheduled to move to an in-person hearing on 16 December in a US district court in the state of Texas.

The post T-Mobile US rejects AT&T switching app claims appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The US regulator stated the $1 billion deal announced in November 2024 would enhance “AT&T’s network coverage, capacity and performance, resulting in a better customer experience”.

It added the likelihood of “competitive harm” as a result of the deal is low.

President Donald Trump’s administration has required telecoms operators to drop DEI programmes to gain regulatory approval for deals.

Rival operators T-Mobile US and Verizon have both had deals pushed through shortly after dropping their own DEI initiatives.

AT&T is buying 1,250 million MHz-POPs of 3.45GHz and 331 million MHz-POPs of 700MHZ B/C block bands from UScellular.

When it announced the deal, it said the spectrum would bolster 5G network capacity in more than 100 markets.

However, lobby group Rural Wireless Association released a statement slamming the FCC’s decision to push the deal through, stating it continues a trend of consolidation which harms competition and disserves the public interest.

It believes the deal will lead to increased prices and result in roaming challenges for consumers.

The post FCC approves AT&T, UScellular spectrum deal appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Samsung joins Huawei in multi-fold phone market

What happened: Samsung Electronics unveiled its first multi-fold smartphone, the Galaxy Z TriFold, featuring a 10-inch inner display that folds twice using two hinges and a 6.5-inch outer cover screen.

Why it matters: Samsung said the inner display “performs similarly to three 6.5-inch smartphones” for multitasking, while also enabling large-screen media use. The KRW3.6 million (around $2,500) device intensifies competition with rival Huawei in the emerging foldable device category. Amanda Newman, director of business development at Orbit, said the Galaxy Z TriFold “serves as a signal that Samsung intends to maintain its lead in flexible display engineering”. She added that while volumes will be limited, “the point is not scale but demonstrating multipanel folding technology before competition accelerates in 2026”. Foldables still account for only about 2.5 per cent of global smartphone shipments, but quarterly volumes recently hit a high, Newman noted. Although Huawei entered the category first with the Mate XT series, she argued that Samsung, which holds around 64 per cent of the segment, is betting on improved durability, better software and larger displays enabling multitasking through desktop-style DeX environments. “With Apple preparing its first foldable, the next year will test whether the category can finally expand beyond early adopters,” she concluded.

AT&T follows rivals in dropping DEI initiatives

What happened: AT&T joined rivals T-Mobile US and Verizon in committing to shutter its DEI initiatives, stating in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) it “will not have any roles focused on DEI” and would terminate related policies.

Why it matters: AT&T had already begun scaling back DEI in March through funding cuts and management restructuring but had not yet dismantled the programme entirely. The latest move comes as the operator seeks regulatory approval for a $1 billion deal to acquire spectrum licences from UScellular. FCC chair Brendan Carr welcomed the pull back in a post on X, underlining a growing link between regulatory approval and corporate policy under US President Donald Trump’s administration. The approach has already impacted major transactions; earlier this year, Verizon secured approval for its $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications a day after ending its DEI programmes, while T-Mobile took a similar approach ahead of its UScellular asset purchase in July.

India reverses mandate on state-owned security app

What happened: India’s government dropped a controversial mandate that would have required smartphone makers to preinstall its state-owned cybersecurity app, Sanchar Saathi, on all new devices.

Why it matters: The government’s reversal follows widespread criticism, including from Apple, which told authorities earlier this week it would not comply with the order over privacy and security concerns. Initially, the government defended the order, insisting it was necessary to help citizens verify device authenticity and report possible misuse. However, the Ministry of Communications has now said the reversal is due to improved uptake of the app, which was originally intended to reach “less aware citizens” faster. Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified that users “may deactivate or delete” the app, reversing an earlier mandate that made it unremovable, adding it “is not surveillance, it is a citizen safety tool”. Canalys senior analyst Sanyam Chaurasia told MWL that allowing users to delete the app cushioned the original mandate and improved the impact on device experience and OEM strategies. However, he warned that the long-term “inflection point” will depend on how effectively data privacy, user consent and transparency are addressed. “Until strong safeguards and legal clarity are in place, this is likely to remain a developing policy experiment rather than a hard, industry-wide operating requirement.”

The post Samsung multi folds; India app dispute; AT&T drops DEI appeared first on Mobile World Live.

On 20 November, T-Mobile rolled out a beta version of its Easy Switch programme at Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix race. It enables customers from rivals AT&T and Verizon to change plans in 15 minutes instead of hours using its digital T-Life app.

Easy Switch is an AI tool which analyses current AT&T or Verizon accounts before recommending optimal T-Mobile plans. It went live on 1 December.

After sending T-Mobile an initial complaint on 26 November, AT&T filed its lawsuit in a US district in Texas on 30 November.

It alleges the T-Life app is scraping AT&T customer data by collecting “more than 100 categories of private information” from each subscriber before recommending lower-priced T-Mobile plans.

AT&T asked the judge to issue a temporary restraining order blocking T-Mobile from using its “Switch Made Easy” (SME) price-comparison tool to access password-protected software on AT&T’s systems without permission.

“AT&T has already told T-Mobile to stop,” it stated in the 30 November filing. “T-Mobile refused and instead actively circumvented security measures that AT&T put in place to block T-Mobile’s unauthorised intrusions.”

The operator also stated in its most recent filing T-Mobile’s “scraper also operates without identification so as to appear as AT&T’s own customers, in a blatant attempt to deceive AT&T’s systems,” which it claimed is without authorisation and in violation of its terms of use.

Before filing its lawsuit, AT&T sent a cease-and-desist letter to T-Mobile on 24 November, and on the same day implemented computer security measures to block T-Mobile’s scraping.

It also contacted Apple the same day about the T-Life app violating app store terms. T-Mobile stated four days later that it does not run counter to the iPhone-maker’s app store guidelines,

On 25 November, AT&T claimed T-Mobile altered its SME scraping tool to disguise it from detection. AT&T alleges T-Mobile again modified its tool to evade detection a day later.

After AT&T again blocked SME’s access on 26 November, T-Mobile removed its scraping function, but AT&T noted the tool still appears to be collecting Verizon customer data.

A representative from AT&T told Mobile World Live (MWL) it took action “to prevent T-Mobile from putting customers at risk through its irresponsible implementation of bots and AI to unlawfully harvest private customer data and competitors’ intellectual property”.

“ Our customers trust AT&T with their personal information, and we will continue to protect them from T-Mobile’s reckless business practices by giving them, not an unknown bot, control of their personal data.”

T-Mobile responds
A representative for T-Mobile told MWL “AT&T’s claims are wrong on the facts and the law”.

“Easy Switch simply and safely empowers consumers to seamlessly access and share their own information so that they can make an informed choice about their wireless provider and plan.  We remain committed to transparency, simplicity and ensuring consumers have the freedom to choose, and we will continue to vigorously oppose AT&T’s efforts to hamper consumer choice.”

The judge granted T-Mobile’s request to file its opposition to AT&T’s lawsuit by 8 December followed by an in-person hearing 16 December.

Verizon did not respond to MWL’s request for comment on T-Mobile’s SME tool.

The post AT&T sues T-Mobile US over AI-based switching tool appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), it stated it “will not have any roles focused on DEI” and would end related policies.

“AT&T has always stood for merit-based opportunity and we are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination today,” it stated.

The announcement was welcomed by FCC chair Brendan Carr in a post on X and the move is likely to result in the regulator now approving AT&T’s $1 billion deal to acquire spectrum licences from UScellular.

AT&T began to scale back its DEI efforts in March by making funding cuts to certain programmes and restructuring its leadership, but stopped short of cutting off the initiative completely.

Deals
The administration of US President Donald Trump is requiring telecoms operators to end their DEI programmes to gain regulatory approval for deals.

In May, Verizon won regulatory approval for a $20 billion acquisition of fixed line service provider Frontier Communications a day after it ended DEI initiatives.

It was a similar story for T-Mobile, which in July took the same stance on DEI to gain approval for a $4.4 billion move to acquire the bulk of UScellular’s wireless assets.

The post AT&T follows rivals in dropping DEI initiatives appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The operator claims the new spectrum is unlocking “substantial increases in speed and capacity for customers in more than 5,300 cities”.

AT&T stated its fixed wireless access service, Internet Air, saw a 55 per cent bump in download speed thanks to the new spectrum.

During a Q3 earnings call in October, CEO John Stankey said AT&T got an early jump on using EchoStar’s 3.45GHz spectrum through a short-term spectrum manager lease.

The $23 billion EchoStar and AT&T deal is expected to close in mid-2026, pending regulatory approval.

The operator is also counting on the spectrum to boost its convergence strategy for its home internet and 5G wireless services.

AT&T COO Jeff McElfresh stated the new spectrum “gives us the runway to expand availability of AT&T Internet Air for consumers and businesses and add even more download speed to our 5G service”.

AT&T stated its subscribers can expect more capacity for streaming, gaming and AI-powered apps. The upgrade also improves 5G service for first responders on FirstNet Authority.

The post AT&T power boosts 5G footprint, FWA with EchoStar appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Rob Soni, VP of RAN technology with AT&T (pictured, second from left), and Thomas Lips, SVP of RAN disaggregation and enablement at Deutsche Telekom (pictured, far left), broadly agreed the open RAN movement is progressing to the next level and changing the game for operators.

AT&T just made a big step forward by placing a live call over the network it is deploying in conjunction with Ericsson and 1Finity, and securing additional spectrum.

The work is “causing a shift and drift with us with respect to our competitors”, Soni said, explaining AT&T is now in a position to enable “spectrum by simply changing parameters because the radios are capable of absorbing that initial bandwidth”.

Stroll
AT&T is “no longer restricted in geography over where we place our vendors”. It can begin to consider nationwide deployments rather than just localised uses.

“What we’re seeing today is we’re out walking the talk. Everything we promised to do we’re more or less doing, but that is really through the combination of great work with our partners, with Ericsson, with Dell, with 1Finity and a variety of others.”

Lips said Deutsche Telekom is also making good on its open RAN commitments and noted the industry is already changing due to the movement.

Operators are “exchanging information about what is working or what is not working”, he said before telling Soni he thought “walk the talk was ours”.

Lips said Deutsche Telekom has the challenge of operating in multiple countries, but added an RFQ process covering 30,000 sites it intends to commence in January 2026 is likely to result in “change in the operating model” and the way it manages its networks.

Bernard Bureau, VP of wireless strategy and services at Telus (pictured, second from right) said the operator is already besting the KPIs of traditional RAN and is turning attention to how to employ RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) for tasks including “energy savings, load balancing” and other optimisation efforts.

Vodafone Group head of open RAN and Telecom Infra Project president Francisco Martin Pignatelli (pictured, far right) offered assurances the maturing of the open RAN movement does not spell the end of fresh approaches.

He explained Vodafone has not “selected all the suppliers for the radios yet” because it wants the flexibility to bring in new suppliers to cover fresh innovations, something more traditional RAN deals would not allow due to the time taken to deploy the infrastructure.

The post Deutsche Telekom, AT&T detail open RAN evolution appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Nicholas Thompson, director of RAN transformation at AT&T (pictured, centre), explained the challenge of switching to Ericsson’s RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) as part of a huge deal the pair struck in 2023.

Thompson said AT&T implemented the platform earlier this year, clearing the way to begin testing RAN automation elements including rApps.

The operator used existing self-organising network (SON) applications as its start point, “taking what we know as truth, that we have experience operating and porting that over”.

Thompson noted a continued “staunch stance” on security, saying it felt like the operator was “running face first into a chainsaw” in terms of the requirements covering what it took into its production network.

Clear goals
AT&T’s cautious approach reflects the complexity of RAN automation efforts. Thompson pointed out the composition of the company left it with “multiple different SON apps working in different places in the network”, some of which were of higher quality than others.

It means the operator desires a common ground in terms of employing the same apps across its entire network regardless of where in the US it is located, but which can also work in outdoor and indoor scenarios.

Telus director of RAN strategy Sushil Rawat (pictured, right) explained its initial app focus is on “an anomaly detection use case” covering various KPIs.

The Canadian operator acknowledged the role of SON apps as a baseline, but Rawat noted there are other proofs to explore and the RIC is “basically a framework” for a multi-approval process.

He added vendors continue to have a key role to play, highlighting the importance of maintaining “rapport” even in an era of high-technology and automation.

Telus is also keen to ensure its suppliers are pragmatic, helping it to work through any issues flagged by automation testing processes.

The post Operators reveal RAN automation tactics appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The eSIM system is compatible with the latest GSMA SGP.32 specification for remote subscriber module provisioning, and management of IoT and other mobile devices.

Thales and AT&T explained this positions their set-up for global operation of large-scale IoT deployments. It offers automated subscription changes and other updates covering tasks the companies stated can prove time consuming.

The system is being used in AT&T’s global IoT offering, which it explained targets areas including automotive, smart cities, healthcare and utilities. Security is provided by Thales and designed to meet the latest global cyber protection standards.

Thales and AT&T argued simplified, centralised IoT management systems are becoming more important as device numbers soar.

They highlighted a GSMA Intelligence prediction global cellular IoT connections would hit 5.8 billion in 2030. Thales EVP of Mobile Connectivity Solutions Eva Rudin declared the expected volumes as driving a “new era for remote eSIM provisioning”.

AT&T Connected Solutions VP Cameron Coursey said the eSIM system would “help customers reduce friction and gain control of managing their own devices with reliable connectivity”.

Find out more about eSIM on Mobile World Live’s Topic Hub.

The post Thales, AT&T eye IoT eSIM requirements appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The Connectopia programme uses AT&T’s fibre and 5G networks to provide multiple interactive services in the Intuit Dome. The operator put these to work late last week during an LA Clippers match as part of a programme to evolve the experiences offered in the arena.

AT&T employed AI to guide fans in designing personalised zones which are shown on a 30-foot parabolic screen located in an immersive area offering 8K cinematic video quality.

Videos can be shared using a mobile app.

Other interactive elements on offer include holographic guests, responsive animations, theatre-quality lighting and immersive sound featuring original music scores and effects.

Getting in to it
AT&T chief marketing and growth officer Kellyn Kenny said its partnership with the LA Clippers centres on using technology to provide fresh experiences to its fans.

“Connectopia is a dynamic platform that continually evolves”, Kenny said, adding it also serves as a blueprint for other sports grounds.

The Intuit Dome is owned by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and is operated by his umbrella company Halo Sports and Entertainment.

Its CEO Gillian Zucker explained the company “set out to build an arena that could elevate the game and bring fans closer”. The ambition is being deployed in stages, with AT&T’s Connectopia rollout coming around a year after the stadium opened.

Zucker said the operator is “helping us transform our arena into a place where fans don’t just watch, they participate”.

Melissa Arnoldi, EVP and GM of AT&T Business, said Connectopia shows how the operator’s “security, reliability and expertise can fuel innovation for any business”.

AT&T stated Connectopia is a first of its kind involving 8K AI videos shown in a live venue, one which is complex because the picture is always changing due to the variety of fan inputs.

The post AT&T airs LA Clippers AI fan experience appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a blog, AT&T stated the accomplishment showcases the interoperability and flexibility of open RAN, underscoring the importance of collaboration in developing next-generation, open and programmable networks capable of transforming the mobile industry.

The call over AT&T’s commercial network paired Ericsson’s high-capacity RAN processor 6672 with 1Finity radios. The same arrangement was used in a laboratory trial in August.

Fujitsu struck a deal with AT&T for its open RAN efforts in December 2024, about a year after the operator named the Japanese company as a partner when it reached a $14 billion deal with Ericsson to replace Nokia equipment.

Ericsson VP and CTO for customer unit AT&T Paul Challoner, explained the1Finity radios are integrated with its Intelligent Automation Platform open RAN management and automation platform to enable multi-vendor radio compatibility.

“It is a great proof point for open RAN ecosystem collaboration,” he noted.

AT&T plans to move 70 per cent of its 5G network traffic to open hardware by late 2026.

Blog authors Rob Soni, VP of RAN technology, and Alisha Remek, VP of construction and engineering, stated AT&T has completed nearly 40 per cent of its programme to switch from Nokia radios to Ericsson.

“Additionally, we’ve added valuable mid-band (N77) spectrum to over 15,000 sites which deliver increased speeds and a greatly improved wireless experience for our customers,” they wrote.

“This accomplishment is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams.”

“And this achievement isn’t just a technical milestone, it’s a clear signal that the future of wireless will be open, agile and innovation driven.”

Analyst takeaway
AvidThink founder and analyst Roy Chua told Mobile World Live the open RAN deployment shows progress from laboratory to production as part of the operator’s commitment to multi-vendor RAN.

He said it bolsters the argument the open fronthaul interface is one of the more significant outcomes of the open RAN movement, including the ability to more easily integrate radios from different vendors into a mobile RAN.

“It’s still not clear how AT&T will mix and match radios across their production network and at what scale, but ecosystem diversity, even if limited to just swapping RUs, is healthy.”

The post AT&T, Ericsson make live open RAN call appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During a Q3 earnings call (the period ending 30 September), Stankey said AT&T got an early jump on using EchoStar’s 3.45GHz spectrum through a short-term spectrum manager lease.

He stated the operator is starting to see more of EchoStar’s Boost Mobile wireless customers moving to its network which is increasing AT&T’s wholesale revenue

The $23 billion EchoStar and AT&T deal is expected to close in mid-2026, pending regulatory approval.

“We believe this will establish a durable competitive advantage for AT&T in the coming years,” Stankey said.

He explained the spectrum will not only improve its 5G network performance but also boost its fixed wireless access (FWA) Internet Air service. AT&T’s FWA strategy is to launch in areas where it is replacing legacy copper networks and does not have fibre.

“Our ability to move this quickly reflects the great work of our teams and the FCC’s pro-investment and supportive policy environment,” Stankey stated. “We’re also making great progress in preparing to close our transaction with Lumen.

“Most of the senior leadership team has been identified, and we now expect to close this transaction in the early part of 2026.”

The mobile operator has a goal of passing 60 million consumer and business locations across the US with fibre by 2030 compared to its current 31 million passings

“The bottom line is that we now have the right building blocks in place to realise our scaled fibre and fixed wireless ambitions, complete our wireless modernisation and successfully transition away from legacy infrastructure,” Stankey said. “I wouldn’t trade our assets and position for anyone else’s in our marketplace.”

Fibre competition
Rivals Verizon and T-Mobile US also have grand fibre ambitions. T-Mobile launched its T-Fiber service in June and closed its joint venture deals with Metronet and Lumos. Verizon expects its $20 billion deal to buy Frontier Communications, which includes its fibre network, to close early next year.

Stankey brushed off fibre threats from mobile operators and commercial open-access providers.

In addition to its own fibre build out, AT&T is also expanding its reach through its Gigapower joint venture.

“We try to be very deliberate about ensuring that everybody knows when the train rolls into town, that the train’s in town,” he said about AT&T’s fibre build out. “There’s probably easier places for people to go than come up against us.”

CEO carousel
During the call with analysts, Stankey was asked about Verizon and T-Mobile replacing their CEOs, and whether AT&T has a succession plan.

“We don’t have those distractions that others have,” he said. “I know what I’m entirely focused on, which is making sure that the management team understands their priorities and executes effectively.

“And that’s all we’re worried about. We’re not worried about your question.”

MoffettNathanson senior MD Craig Moffett stated in a research note AT&T should be concerned Verizon CEO Dan Schulman and T-Mobile CEO Srinivasan Gopalan are more aggressive than their predecessors.

Q3 numbers
AT&T added 405,000 post-paid mobile subscribers, up slightly from 403,000 a year ago. Mobility service revenue of $16.9 billion increased by 2.3 per cent year-over-year.

The AT&T Fiber broadband service netted 288,000 customers in the quarter while FWA accounted for 270,000 additions.

“This resulted in our highest total broadband net ads in more than eight years,” Stankey said.

Stankey and CFO Pascal Desroches highlighted the company’s ongoing convergence strategy of bundling wireless and fibre services. Desroches said 41.5 percent of AT&T Fiber households also opted for its mobile plans.

“This represents one of our largest convergence gains over the past three years,” Desroches stated.

The operator reported revenue of $30.7 billion compared to $30.2 billion a year ago.

The post AT&T dives in on deploying EchoStar spectrum appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The US operator wasted little time in finding use cases for its 5G infrastructure after completing a nationwide deployment. Its deal with Toyota focuses firmly on the vehicle company’s own range of connected services, spanning infotainment, safety functions, servicing, and cloud, remote access and Wi-Fi connections.

AT&T promises “enhanced integrated audio streaming, a reliable Wi-Fi hotspot”, real-time navigation, remote services and OTA updates, along with access to SiriusXM content.

While it is undoubtedly a useful win for AT&T just after its 5G coverage achievement, the focus on connectivity alone masks some of the problems facing all US operators and automotive players.

These issues matter, given Verizon and T-Mobile US are each just as active in the automotive space as AT&T.

Verizon, for example, unveiled its latest cellular vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connected driving platform in June, with T-Mobile actively promoting its 5G network as providing a fast lane to a next-level of vehicle connectivity.

The Edge Transportation Exchange Verizon launched was demonstrated in conjunction with the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and counted Volkswagen Group of America and various transport authorities among initial users.

At the time, Verizon Business VP of Strategic Connectivity and IoT Shamik Basu said the exchange uses the growing range of software featured in vehicles to help manufacturers and relevant authorities plot how mobile technologies can be used in future transport situations.

Verizon’s approach employs LTE along with 5G, mobile edge compute and geolocation technology. The operator heralded various other benefits including cost reductions stemming from a decline in the number of roadside radio units required.

T-Mobile is targeting its 5G capabilities at a broad cross-section of the automotive opportunity, with a heavy tilt towards the potential in emergency service scenarios along with those relating to the vehicles themselves, customers and factories.

In an article on how 5G could drive the next wave of vehicle connectivity, T-Mobile explained the mobile technology stands to benefit safety, performance, efficiency, convenience and entertainment.

T-Mobile noted 5G may help overcome obsolescence in systems fitted to vehicles when they are made, improve data analysis and employ network slicing capabilities for a host of dedicated functions.

If all three major US operators already have the wheels in motion for vehicle connectivity and platforms, why does the situation in the market remain uncertain?

Driving instructions
Ironically, efforts to free up more spectrum for operators is one key issue.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) is a body which represents all elements of the US industry including manufacturers, equipment suppliers, battery producers, semiconductor and technology companies, and autonomous vehicle developers.

In a blog published earlier this year, Auto Innovators president and CEO John Bozzella noted spectrum sale plans included in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill could jeopardise wireless safety technology embedded in “millions of vehicles”.

Bozzella explained vehicle manufacturers are “investing heavily in wireless connectivity and use ultra-wideband” (UWB) spectrum in the 6GHz to 8.5GHz band for a host of features.

Auto Innovators argue this is a prime location in the wireless world, one which politicians and other industries “want turned over to other technologies”.

There is a broader push around releasing the upper 6GHz band to the mobile industry due to its potential to bolster current 5G networks and lay a foundation for future 6G technology.

But vehicle makers employ UWB in collision avoidance radar, remote parking, real-time positioning and digital keys enabling phones to be used to access vehicles.

The automotive industry has longer lead times than the mobile sector, so any change is going to involve patience and potentially a period of co-existence while current equipment serves out its time.

Bozzella was optimistic on a plan to exclude frequencies between 7.25GHz to 8.4GHz from auction plans and called on politicians to ensure this stretch, at least, is protected.

Auto Innovators is also collaborating with the CTIA to develop policies each industry believes would be workable.

In a report on the importance of 5G to the automotive sector issued in 2024, the CTIA pressed politicians to “continue to provide access to full-power licensed spectrum for the deployment of wide-area networks”.

It stated vehicle manufacturers are “first movers” in terms of employing 5G as they seek to hike the capacity and rate of data transmissions for navigation and infotainment systems, along with ultra-low latency which “eliminates lag and delays when split seconds matter”.

The latest mobile technology “will help a vehicle automatically share crash information” with emergency services, or help drivers “respond to real-time routing and weather information”.

It emphasised 5G would be a key element in traffic management systems, providing “valuable information about a vehicle’s surroundings” and noted a broad push to use the technology to make “roads, vehicles and communities safer”.

The CTIA listed a host of examples of how AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are working with the automotive industry on vehicle developments, highlighting how entwined the sectors now are.

Chipping in
Auto Innovators separately noted geo-political challenges remain a factor in the US vehicle market.

In August, SVP of policy Hilary Cain highlighted the semiconductor supply chain is still an area of concern.

Cain explained in a blog an average car today contains more than 1,700 chips and highlighted problems in the supply chain experienced during the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic to show the seriousness of any disruption.

The executive argued the automotive chip supply chain “remains fragile”, putting developments including advanced driver assistance systems at risk, along with other critical in-vehicle systems.

Cain noted the US automotive industry remains heavily reliant on non-domestic production of vehicle-grade semiconductors, though wrote home-grown alternatives are beginning to gain some traction.

Bumpy road
Another factor which could come into play in operators’ connected vehicle goals is regulation.

In a response to a call by the US Department of Justice for information on state-level laws which could impact the overall national economy, Auto Innovators argued the case for a single set of rules.

It noted various US states have implemented or plan to enact legislation which could force manufacturers to adapt their vehicles to individual rules but argued such approaches are impractical, not least because people often drive into other regions.

Auto Innovators gained support from politicians for a proposal to make nationwide rules enabling location tracking to be disabled to help protect victims of domestic violence, a move likely easier for operators to implement instead of one involving individual states.

There is also what Auto Innovators described as a “patchwork” of frameworks for autonomous vehicles, something it warned could “harm the global competitiveness” of the US industry.

The group pointed to requirements to fit specific data recording capabilities and two-way communication functionalities as among the challenges, calling for the Department of Transportation to update national standards to include autonomous vehicles.

Despite the challenges, growth predictions for the overall connected car industry indicate it is worth US operators staying the course.

In 2024, speciality research company Towards Automotive noted 5G technology was already “at the forefront of the connected car revolution” and predicted global revenue for the sector would hit $167.5 billion by 2034, compared with an expected $49.5 billion this year.

It forecast the US alone would generate a CAGR of 12.7 per cent over the forecast period, as safety initiatives fuel demand for vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity and more IoT technologies are brought in.

The post Feature: US operators facing 5G vehicle challenges appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Research by network performance measurement company Ookla finds T-Mobile customers accounted for 60.9 percent of the usage on T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service while AT&T came in second at 34 per cent.

T-Mobile’s satellite service provisioned by Starlink birds made its nationwide debut in July after six months of beta testing.

The service is available free for subscribers of T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond or Go5G Next plans.

For those without premium plans, it is being offered for $10 per month for a limited time before increasing to $15 per month. Customers from rivals AT&T and Verizon can access connectivity for $10 a month when they add a second eSIM from T-Mobile.

Users of FirstNet and Verizon accounted for 3 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively, of usage during the same timeframe.

Verizon launched its free satellite messaging service with Skylo Technologies earlier this year, but it only works with newer devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 9.

AT&T and Verizon also have D2D deals in place with AST SpaceMobile with the latter targeting a launch in 2026. Ookla stated AST SpaceMobile plans to offer intermittent satellite connections to AT&T customers later this year, but it has faced several delays.

Usage map
Ookla’s Speedtest data found national forests and national parks are among the areas with the highest usage of the T-Satellite service, but Los Angeles County is the most popular location.

“Although the city of Los Angeles sits in the southern portion of Los Angeles County, California, the Angeles National Forest sits in the northern part,” stated Ookla.

It noted the remote area is home to several wilderness zones, including the Cucamonga Wilderness, Magic Mountain Wilderness and Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness, as well as a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Second-ranked Larimer County, Colorado is in the northern part of the state and contains parts of Rocky Mountain National Park and Roosevelt National Forest while third-ranked Teton County, Wyoming, is the home of Grand Teton National Park and a big chunk of Yellowstone National Park.

Fourth-ranked Mohave County, Arizona, includes parts of Grand Canyon National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Mojave Desert, all of which are areas that have at least some cellular dead zones.

The post AT&T customers keen on T-Mobile US, Starlink D2D service appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Rival T-Mobile US launched its SA 5G network in 2020 using its low-band 600MHz spectrum, but in a blog post today (8 October) AT&T’s Yigal Elbaz, SVP and network CTO, stated “it’s often not about who’s first or fastest, it’s about the network you can count on” regarding connectivity.

Verizon started its transition to SA 5G in 2022 after conducting user trials and initial testing in 2021. Last year Verizon executives stated its network roadmap involved preparing new SA 5G products and services.

In a post on LinkedIn last month, Dell’Oro Group research director Dave Bolan discovered Verizon is employing SA 5G in California using 3700MHz and 850MHz bands.

With the nationwide launch, Elbaz stated select services on its network are using SA 5G and noted the operator has millions of customers on the network. He explained AT&T will expand availability to more customers “as device support and provisioning allow”.

In July, AT&T achieved nationwide coverage of its 5G reduced capability (RedCap) network by using its SA 5G network.

“The new Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3 are all available on our nationwide 5G RedCap network and customers can look forward to a growing portfolio of devices,” Elbaz said.

A representative for AT&T told Mobile World Live “customers across consumer, AT&T Internet Air, IoT and business enterprise segments are already benefiting from the enhanced capabilities” of its SA 5G  platform.

The mobile operator is in the process of migrating all its services to the SA 5G network, according to the representative.

AT&T has not said which vendors it is working with for its SA 5G network, but it did strike a $14 billion deal with Ericsson in 2023 to develop open RAN.

The representative told MWL it is working with multiple vendors on SA 5G.

During MWC25 Barcelona, the GSMA predicted SA 5G will drive 70 per cent of all enterprise revenue expansion until 2030, representing a $127 billion opportunity for the industry.

The post AT&T pushes SA 5G nationwide to millions appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Chief data officer Andy Markus explained in a blog the digital assistant uses multiple large language models (LLMs) to process incoming speech, create responses and turn those responses back into speech.

AT&T did not reveal the LLMs involved, but previously employed OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Falcon AI and Meta Platforms’ open-source Llama.

Markus told Mobile World Live (MWL) AT&T started building and testing the digital assistant earlier this year.

The tool complements AT&T’s existing spam protection systems by using advanced voice-to-voice technology and agentic AI to identify spam and fraud calls based on the operator’s extensive data and algorithms.

“It determines whether the caller is human, how urgent the call is and if it meets your customised criteria,” he stated in the blog. “If the call passes all the checks, the digital receptionist lets the call through to you and drops off the call completely.”

The assistant also decides if it can act autonomously by taking a message or accepting a delivery window.

If callers do not identify themselves, called the wrong number or if user criteria are not met, the receptionist will disconnect or take a message.

“While the digital receptionist is talking to the caller, you can watch a live transcript and pick up at any time” or decide next steps based on a text summary, Markus noted.

Trusted contacts can bypass screening entirely and the system learns user’s preferences over time.

Markus wrote the assistant features AT&T’s security and privacy policies to protect personal information.

In future, the assistant could make reservations by calling establishments.

“This digital receptionist could also eventually handle phone calls that are important but you can’t take at the time, by getting directions from you in real time with text prompts.”

Network-based
Google enables call screening on certain phones through its Assistant feature, primarily on Pixel phones and additional Android devices and Apple included call screening in iOS 26, released earlier this week.

Markus noted the difference for AT&T’s digital assistant is it is network-based.

“It’ll work without any cumbersome downloads,” he explained. “It won’t drain a phone’s battery. And it’ll still work even if you’re out of cellular service range or not connected to the network.”

He told MWL because the tool is built into the network, “it activates before the phone even knows a call is coming”.

“It could work with any device that receives calls on AT&T’s network.”

The digital assistant is being rolled out to select customers throughout the year.

“This is a small public group of testers for now, but we plan for more people to gain access to this as we continue testing,” Markus told MWL.

AT&T is mulling whether to make the assistant available for free on premium plans or charge per month as an add-on for lower-tier subscriptions.

“We are actively exploring these capabilities through testing,” he said. “We’re proud of the innovations we’re building and want to share the potential of AI-powered network enhancements.”

AT&T was an early adopter of generative AI, which could help it meet a goal to reduce costs by $2 billion over the next few years.

The post AT&T trials agentic AI phone receptionist appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The mobile operator is offering a reward of $20,000 in California, and $10,000 in both the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas and Missouri for information leading to the arrest and conviction of copper cable thieves or those attempting to buy or sell stolen copper.

AT&T stated the value of copper has increased in recent years which has led to a short supply. It is also easily recyclable and can be sold to metal recyclers for cash.

Copper prices vary based on type, but a US scrap recycling site put the value at roughly $3.20 to $4 per pound based on type and purity level.

The operator noted repair time and cost varies based on the extent of theft or vandalism, with replacement parts for copper networks being hard to source.

AT&T added fibre cables can be damaged when thieves mistake them for copper, causing additional network outages.

Security measures include securing entry points, using metal casings for wires and locking or welding manhole lids to protect infrastructure.

AT&T is retiring the bulk of its copper lines by 2029 which includes an initial target of 1,300 central offices this year. It is part of a network modernisation upgrade to fibre.

In March, US Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr outlined initial actions to streamline the process for removing legacy copper lines.

The post AT&T cracks down on copper theft with hefty rewards appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Speaking on the All-In Podcast yesterday (9 August,) Musk explained the spectrum would enable SpaceX to deliver high-bandwidth connectivity directly from Starlink satellites to phones.

He noted some device hardware would need to be changed.

“Since these frequencies aren’t supported in current phones, the chipset has to be modified to add these frequencies and that probably is a two-year time frame.”

“The phones that are able to use the spectrum that was acquired probably start shipping in around two years.”

“And then we also need to build the satellites that are going to communicate on those frequencies.”

He stated SpaceX is working with handset makers to add the frequencies to phones.

“The satellites and the phones will then handshake very well to achieve high-bandwidth connectivity, but the net effect is that you should be able to watch videos anywhere on your phone.”

Starlink currently provisions a text messaging service for T-Mobile US, but providing video to customers’ phones and homes would give it a leg-up on competitors AST SpaceMobile, Apple/Globalstar and Lynk Global.

Musk was asked if the service would compete directly against mobile operators.

“To be clear, we’re not going to put the other carriers out of business. They’re still going to be around because they own a lot of spectrum,” he said.

When asked if SpaceX could buy mobile operators to gain more spectrum, Musk seemingly joked it is “not out of the question”.

Operator confidence
AT&T CEO John Stankey yesterday (9 September) told an investor conference yesterday he does not see SpaceX offering a D2D service which bypasses operators.

“Does 40MHz of spectrum allow for a robust terrestrial replacement? As we sit here today, the answer to that is no,” Stankey said.

“Over time, could that happen? Could somebody make a commitment to do something maybe different? Sure, it could happen.”

The CEO pointed to the failure of EchoStar to become the fourth mobile player in the US and the need for ground infrastructure to support a D2D service as barriers for SpaceX.

LightShed Partners analyst Walter Piecyk stated in a research note following the podcast the mobile industry “is clearly vulnerable to disruption and SpaceX has the brand power and direct-to-consumer model to press that advantage”.

“We highly doubt SpaceX has any interest in the people or infrastructure of a telco, there are plenty of compelling spectrum assets in and outside of those carriers to consider.”

Instead, he stated “an MVNO deal will be essential if SpaceX wants to deliver a Starlink phone directly to consumers”.

The post Musk outlines SpaceX D2D spectrum strategy appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Indeed, Semafor reported last week (26 August) T-Mobile previously expressed interest in all of EchoStar’s spectrum before AT&T struck its $23 billion deal for rights to the satellite player’s 3.45GHz and 600MHz licences. It is reportedly still interested in some of the remaining assets.

The news agency reported T-Mobile, AT&T and EchoStar were in preliminary talks which would have allowed the operators to split the satellite player’s spectrum holdings.

SpaceX covets EchoStar’s AWS-4 spectrum for use on its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites as part of a goal of providing its own coverage to mobile devices outside of partnerships with operators such as T-Mobile.

EchoStar co-founder and chair Charlie Ergen is a well-known hoarder of spectrum, but his company’s decision to shutter its greenfield, open RAN-based network, along with a $22 billion debt load, marks the beginning of spectrum sales.

Tim Farrar, an analyst at TMF Associates, explained in a research note EchoStar still owns 30MHz of 3.45GHz spectrum and approximately 20MHz of 600MHz spectrum, both of which were purchased in government auctions.

The crown gem of EchoStar’s spectrum is AWS-4 in the 2GHz band, which SpaceX contends is underutilised.

“Going forward it is therefore quite likely that there will be further transactions, perhaps just between AT&T and T-Mobile, or perhaps involving EchoStar’s key midband holdings in AWS-3 and AWS-4,” Farrar stated.

“However, we are highly skeptical about suggestions SpaceX would bid for the AWS-4 2GHz MSS spectrum, or that SpaceX wants to run a terrestrial wireless network, at least at a price level that EchoStar would take remotely seriously.”

He noted AT&T is less specific about its plans for the 600MHz band, which he previously thought would be of more interest to T-Mobile.

“However, it is not implausible to think that AT&T might want to use the 600MHz spectrum as leverage for a trade with T-Mobile to allow AT&T to acquire T-Mobile’s 3.45GHz and C-band spectrum,” he explained.

AWS-4
In May, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called out EchoStar’s lack of use of its AWS-4 spectrum licences following a complaint by SpaceX.

SpaceX appeared to have an ally in FCC chair Brendan Carr, who pressed EchoStar to part with spectrum it wasn’t using. A meeting between Ergen, Carr and US President Donald Trump may have smoothed the path for the sale to AT&T.

“AWS-4 is the elephant in the room,” stated LightShed Partners analyst Walter Piecyk in a research note. “For SpaceX, access to AWS-4 could be transformative. The spectrum would supercharge Starlink’s direct-to-device ambitions, potentially enabling streaming-grade sat-to-phone services.”

Farrar estimated the AWS-4 spectrum to be worth around $20 billion but Semafor reported Ergen values it at $30 billion.

“SpaceX may see AWS-4 as critical to its sat-to-phone roadmap, but SpaceX is unlikely to pay anything close to $25 billion,” Piecyk stated. “Instead, its leverage lies with the FCC”.

“A sympathetic regulator could push for shared use or apply pressure on EchoStar by threatening to revoke rights.”

Farrar posted on X Verizon should buy EchoStar’s AWS-3 and lease AWS-4 in urban areas, while continuing to hold onto the latter to build its non-terrestrial network (NTN) for a direct-to-device (D2D) satellite constellation.

“But if TMUS [T-Mobile] wins the bidding this would change,” he said on X.

He explained if T-Mobile bought all of EchoStar’s AWS-4 the latter will likely abandon its D2D constellation while allowing the mobile operator to provide more spectrum to partner Starlink for its satellite service.

“AT&T has already used portions of AWS-4, briefly lighting up spectrum during Covid,” Piecyk stated. “That suggests AT&T radios can handle at least half the band without new capex. In a spectrum-scarce world, that’s a significant edge that neither T-Mobile nor Verizon currently enjoys.”

He noted while Verizon is not an obvious first mover for EchoStar’s remaining spectrum, “it has a history of opportunistic spectrum grabs at high prices”.

 “It should now feel some additional pressure given AT&T’s moves.”

Peter Adderton, the founder of Boost Mobile and now CEO and founder of operator MobileX, told The New York Post another scenario could include the Trump administration taking a stake in SpaceX in return helping it acquire EchoStar’s AWS-4 spectrum.

The post Analysis: Scramble for EchoStar spectrum ramps up appeared first on Mobile World Live.

AT&T acquires EchoStar spectrum assets for $23B

What happened: AT&T agreed to acquire EchoStar’s 3.45GHz and 600MHz spectrum licences in a $23 billion deal, securing 50MHz of mid and low-band spectrum covering nearly the entire US.

Why it matters: The deal, pending US regulatory approval, effectively marks the end of EchoStar’s ambitions to establish itself as the nation’s fourth major operator. EchoStar’s Boost Mobile unit will now shift to a hybrid MNO model, using a cloud-native 5G core and AT&T’s cell infrastructure. Boost will continue using T-Mobile US’ network during the transition, with parts of its RAN network set for shutdown. AvidThink founder and principal Roy Chua said that Boost’s RAN wind down “is a negative for the vendors involved in powering the Boost RAN network”, pointing to Samsung, Mavenir and Wind River. Roger Entner, founder and analyst at Recon Analytics, said “this is de facto the end of the road” for EchoStar as the fourth network operator, adding the spectrum deal “allows AT&T to play offence in a lot more places”.

Nvidia eyes 50% growth despite weak China outlook

What happened: Nvidia expects Q3 revenue to hit $54 billion, representing 50 per cent year-on-year growth, with the figure not accounting for sales of its H20 chips in China.

Why it matters: For Q2, Nvidia reported a 59 per cent rise in total profit to $26.4 billion, with total revenue increasing 56 per cent to $46.7 billion, exceeding analyst expectations. Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, hailed the chipmaker’s “monster quarter”, stating its revenue and earnings per share exceeded expectations, while the company also announced a $60 billion share buyback. “That’s the kind of signal markets usually love as it says we’re confident. we’re here to stay.” In addition, H20 chip revenue for the quarter reached $650 million, generated entirely outside of China. The company confirmed no H20 shipments were made to China in Q2, with CFO Colette Kress stating that while some licences have been approved, none have yet translated into chip shipments. Leaman described continued export restrictions as “biting”, adding that “if those rules ease, it could add $2 billion to $5 billion in sales next quarter. But that’s a big if”. Meanwhile, CEO Jensen Huang noted that production of next-generation Blackwell Ultra chips is ramping with “extraordinary” demand.

Trump threatens retaliation on nations targeting US tech

What happened: President Donald Trump accused unnamed governments of giving a pass to Chinese tech giants while unfairly targeting US companies, warning countries enforcing digital taxes of retaliation.

Why it matters: Trump threatened to impose “substantial additional tariffs” on exports to the US and restrict countries’ access to advanced US technologies including chips, looking to target nations maintaining what he claimed are protectionist and discriminatory regulatory measures. Although he did not explicitly name any targets, a number of countries, including members of the European Union (EU) and the UK, have implemented digital services taxes and legislation aimed at curbing the power of big tech companies. Trump’s latest comments come after Canada axed its proposed digital services tax on US tech companies in June in an effort to smooth the way for trade negotiations with the country after Trump branded the levy as “a direct and blatant attack”. Indeed, the President’s latest critique echoes a broader US backlash against global tech regulatory efforts. At MWC25 Barcelona, FCC chair Brendan Carr slammed the EU’s Digital Services Act.

The post AT&T seals $23B deal; Nvidia bullish; Trump tech tax threats appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Under the auspices of Dish Network, the concept of becoming the fourth network operator was borne out of T-Mobile US’ deal to buy Sprint in 2019. Dish Network agreed to pay $5 billion to acquire assets from both of those operators as part of a plan which was supposed to provide additional competition in the market.

After several delays, Dish Wireless launched its greenfield, open RAN network in Las Vegas in 2022.

The struggle bus had many stops as the company under the EchoStar brand faced a mounting debt load while also failing to find its footing in the MNO sector.

Matters came to a head in May when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called out EchoStar’s 5G network buildout and its AWS-4 spectrum licences after SpaceX questioned the latter’s use.

FCC chair Brendan Carr presented EchoStar co-founder and chair Charlie Ergen with his “best and final offer” following a meeting by both with President Donald Trump in June. Trump encouraged the two sides to reach a deal to help EchoStar avoid bankruptcy.

EchoStar stated in a filing the uncertainty over its spectrum rights effectively froze its ability to make decisions about its Boost Mobile phone business, including the build out of its 5G network.

EchoStar stated its spectrum deal with AT&T will result in it decommissioning elements of its open RAN network over time as it moves forward as a hybrid MNO using the latter’s network.

The deal with AT&T is expected to close in mid-2026. Roger Entner, founder and analyst at Recon Analytics, told Mobile World Live (MWL) it will likely gain regulatory approval after both Carr and Ergen met with Trump at the White House.

“This is de facto the end of the road as the fourth network operator,” he said.

Here’s a look at how the deal impacts EchoStar and AT&T.

Vendor fallout
Entner explained the decision to shutter the open RAN network impacts the vendors which were supporting the 5G service and buildout. Samsung struck a deal three years ago to provide radios and other gear for use on the 5G network.

“It probably effects Samsung the most,” Entner noted.

AvidThink founder and principal Roy Chua told MWL the decision to shut down the open RAN network made sense to ensure EchoStar can remain viable going forward.

“It’s unfortunate for the innovative technology platform they built with their partners and the overall open RAN movement,” he said. “It’s a negative for the vendors involved in powering the Boost RAN network, including Samsung, Mavenir and a host of other players.

“Unfortunate as well for Wind River, which just took over from Broadcom/VMware the OS/CaaS layer at the edge.”

He noted Amazon Web Services will most likely continue to host the Boost Mobile 5G core.

Government contracts
The future of EchoStar’s Open RAN Centre for Integration and Deployment (ORCID) faculty to test and validate components from various vendors on its 5G cloud-native network seems uncertain as does a $50 million grant from the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to help establish the centre.

Tower companies
LightShed analyst Walter Piecyk noted EchoStar’s net debt was $22 billion before it struck the deal with AT&T.

“Dish paid $13.5 billion for the spectrum now getting sold for $23 billion. There are likely other elements to this deal and tower counts look to decline not increase,” he said on X.

Indeed, MoffettNathanson senior MD Craig Moffett explained EchoStar is still saddled with roughly $15 billion in debt related to its tower lease agreements.

He noted the deal with AT&T provides a near-to-medium cushion for EchoStar to pay its tower leases.

Moffett said it also bodes well “for the thesis that EchoStar is now in full liquidation mode”.

“More spectrum sales will surely follow,” he stated. “The likelihood of EchoStar remaining a facilities-based carrier are dwindling.”

Satellite play
In the face of a possible bankruptcy filing, EchoStar announced earlier this month it reached an agreement with MDA Space to build low Earth orbit (LEO) birds for a new non-terrestrial network (NTN) for its direct-to-device (D2D) satellite constellation.

EchoStar stated the delivery of satellites is planned for 2028 with a commercial service starting the following year. It estimates the total cost of the LEO constellation is comprised of a one-time investment of $5 billion.

Tim Farrar, an analyst at TMF Associates, explained to MWL EchoStar could use some of the money from the AT&T deal to build its satellite constellation.

Farrar stated in a research note it is doubtful Ergen views D2D as a major opportunity and instead is more focused on building a network to fend off the spectrum challenge from SpaceX’s Starlink and preserve exclusivity in the AWS-4 spectrum within the US.

“As such, we remain doubtful that EchoStar will ultimately invest the full $5 billion required for 200 satellites, and instead near term contract commitments, such as for launch, will focus on the initial 100 satellite constellation and an investment of $2 billion to $2.5 billion.”

Entner also doesn’t see EchoStar making a D2D play.

“With AST SpaceMobile, Kuiper and Starlink, how many competing satellite systems do we need? Charlie Ergen investing more money in satellite-based communications is throwing good money after bad money.”

AT&T
AT&T stated the addition of EchoStar’s spectrum will enable it to offer its fixed wireless access (FWA) service in more areas where it currently does not have fibre.

Compared to rivals Verizon and T-Mobile, AT&T’s FWA rollout has been slower to date, but it could be more aggressive with the new spectrum in hand.  

Entner stated combining FWA with AT&T prepaid brand Cricket Wireless will “go at the jugular” vein of cable operators.

He said the spectrum deal also allows AT&T “to play offence in a lot more places and a lot more markets” while also transforming “a good enough network into a real contender”.

Moffett views the spectrum deal as “incremental negative” and noted the additional debt AT&T will incur “yields little to no incremental revenue”.

He also stated AT&T’s decision to continue its share repurchase programme instead of prioritising debt reduction related to the deal “doesn’t leave much margin for error”.

The post Analysis: EchoStar network dream crashes and burns appeared first on Mobile World Live.

AT&T will gain 50MHz of spectrum in the arrangement, which is subject to regulatory approval, assets it noted cover almost every market in the US.

In a statement, EchoStar explained its mobile unit would continue to compete in the US wireless market using its cloud-native 5G core and AT&T’s cell sites, having signed an amended service agreement with the operator.

Boost Mobile customers will initially retain access to T-Mobile US’ network to ensure there are no service issues.

Elements of Boost Mobile’s RAN are set to be decommissioned over time as a result of the deal.

Probes
Earlier this year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began probes into Boost Mobile’s network build, which started under the guise of Dish Wireless, and spectrum usage.

EchoStar explained the AT&T deal is part “ongoing efforts to resolve” the FCC’s inquiries, noting the sale would enable “rapid deployment of the purchased spectrum to US consumers across the country, as AT&T has the option to lease the spectrum, pending the closing of the spectrum sale”.

Co-founder and chair of the company Charlie Ergen said he is “enormously proud of the EchoStar team for deploying the world’s first open RAN network in record time, despite industry scepticism and in the face of the many challenges raised by the Covid-19 pandemic”.

“EchoStar and Boost Mobile have met all of the FCC’s network buildout milestones. However, this spectrum sale to AT&T and hybrid MNO agreement are critical steps toward resolving the FCC’s spectrum utilisation concerns.”

The satellite company plans to spend the proceeds on “retiring certain debt obligations”, and funding its continued operations and “growth initiatives”.

CEO Hamid Akhavan noted it would “continue to evaluate strategic opportunities for our remaining spectrum portfolio in partnership with the US government and wireless industry participants”.

The post AT&T acquires EchoStar spectrum assets for $23B appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Bloomberg reported discussions are ongoing as a final decision is yet to be made. It also stated there’s no guarantee AT&T will find a buyer.

A representative for AT&T told Mobile World Live the company does not comment on rumours or speculation.

In 2014, AT&T paid $2.5 billion to buy Mexican mobile operator Iusacell from Grupo Salinas and then announced a $1.9 billion deal to acquire the Mexican business of NII Holdings a year later.

The news agency stated AT&T has about 18 per cent of the mobile market share in Mexico, compared to Telcel’s 64 per cent. Telcel is part of Mexico-based America Movil which is controlled by Slim and his family.

Bloomberg noted AT&T has invested more than $10 billion in Mexico. As of December 2024, it had more than 23 million total subscribers.

During last month’s Q2 earnings, the mobile operator reported revenue in its Latin America division was down 4.4 per cent year-over-year to $1 billion.

The post AT&T mulls $2B deal for mobile division in Mexico appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The trio stated the move demonstrates the potential of open RAN specifications and by using open interfaces the successful data call showed off how “increased interoperability and flexibility can be realised within network infrastructures”.

In completing the demonstration, Ericsson used its high-capacity RAN processor 6672 and 1Finity radios, “showcasing reliability of the multivendor solution”.

Fujitsu struck a new deal with AT&T for its open RAN efforts in December 2024, around a year after the operator named the Japanese company as a partner when it struck a $14 billion deal with Ericsson to deploy the technology.

AT&T has always maintained that despite the size of the Ericsson contract, it is pursuing a multi-vendor open RAN strategy. It has also named Mavenir as a partner, however the company was not mentioned in this latest announcement.

Leadership
Rob Soni, VP of RAN Technology at AT&T, said the call was a testament to the operator’s leadership in open RAN innovation and marked a significant step towards its vision of an “open, agile and programmable wireless network”.

Ericsson’s head of product line cloud and purpose-built 5G RAN for its Networks division, Johan Hultell, noted the partnership underscored the transformative potential of robust collaboration in the open RAN ecosystem.

AT&T has stated it aims to move 70 per cent of its 5G network traffic across open hardware by late 2026.

The post AT&T, partners claim open RAN call breakthrough appeared first on Mobile World Live.

According to Q2 earnings call transcripts, AT&T executives mentioned fibre 52 times, followed by T-Mobile with 23 and Verizon with 18.

All three of the operators are determined to win the US fibre war, but their approaches vary.

Convergence of fibre broadband and mobile services are also key going forward, especially to win or keep customers from migrating to cable operator’s mobile and broadband plans.

Verizon
Verizon has been a big advocate for fibre ever since the launch of Fios in 2004, which was followed by its One Fiber build in 2016. While Verizon doesn’t talk much about One Fiber anymore, building a single, unified fibre platform is the core of various consumer and business services.

CEO Hans Vestberg stated on the Q2 earnings call the operator is on track to deliver 650,000 incremental fibre passings this year, which is ahead of schedule.

Once its $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications closes in early 2026, Verizon plans to extend its fibre reach to a range of 35 million to 45 million locations over the coming years and exceed one million fibre passings each year after Frontier closes.

“We are looking forward to having Frontier’s assets serve as an important catalyst for our fibre expansion and broadband growth acceleration,” CFO Tony Skiadas said on the call.

T-Mobile
T-Mobile launched its T-Fiber service last month and closed its joint venture fibre deals with Metronet and Lumos.

“With both up and running under the T-Fiber banner in the second half, we’re poised to deliver 100,000 or more fibre nets on top of our planned 5G broadband nets this year,” CEO Mike Sievert stated. “We are off to the races.”

T-Mobile COO Srini Gopalan explained the operator is targeting 12 million to 15 million fibre locations through the Lumos and Metronet JVs along with open access partnerships.

“That’s before we go make other investments,” he stated. “As we’ve said before, we’re very open to looking at investments in fibre.”

Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy and products, stated after several years of being in pilot mode with T-Fiber, it now has infrastructure in place from a go-to-market standpoint.

“We’ve been able to engineer an IT platform for T-Fiber that I think is just fantastically elegant because this will be a model that involves wholesale partners, JVs like Lumos and Metronet and possibly future JVs, all of whom can plug into a unified T-Fiber platform incredibly easily,” Katz explained

AT&T
AT&T CEO John Stankey has been bullish on the company’s fibre expansion for years and it is starting to reap the rewards.

The mobile operator expects to unlock $6.5 billion to $8 billion in cash tax savings through 2027 due to the passing of Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. It plans to invest $3.5 billion of those savings into building out its fibre network.

Stankey said on the earnings call the legislation will accelerate the company’s fibre buildout to a pace of more than four million homes per year, a run rate he expects to achieve by the end of 2026.

The mobile operator is targeting 60 million business and consumer fibre locations by 2030, which includes the addition of Lumen’s Technologies’ consumer fibre footprint, its Gigapower joint venture with private equity firm BlackRock Alternatives and four agreements with open-access providers.

“I think we’re going to see over time a combination of national players that need assets to do both fixed and mobile together,” Stankey said when asked about fibre competition. “If you’re kind of an island-based overbuilder, or you’re an open access provider that has a small footprint, it’s not a hospitable environment necessarily to be in when scale costs are important and distribution is important.”

“I expect in some cases, some of these overbuilders are not entirely well capitalised.”

And the winner is…
Dell’Oro Group’s Jeff Heynen, VP, broadband access and home networking, told Mobile World Live based on AT&T’s commitment to pass 60 million homes with fibre it holds the advantage.

“Fibre just has such a high barrier to entry,” he said. “But if you make the investment now, you have the first-mover advantage in most markets, as well as the opportunity to bundle services, just as AT&T is doing now.”

He noted AT&T reported four million of its customers buy both fibre and mobile phone services, which is 15 per cent of its post-paid mobile subscriber base.

“That four million subscriber number is up 16 per cent year-over-year,” he explained. “As AT&T passes more homes with fibre, you can assume similar growth rates over time, such that AT&T looks totally different by 2028 and certainly by 2030.”

Heynen stated T-Mobile has shown that it is not afraid to use M&A to expand its fibre footprint and he fully expects it “will continue to expand those relationships in order to take advantage of the opportunity to converge and offer bundled services.”

Converged services
Stankey is also a big proponent of converged mobile and broadband services as a difference maker for the operator.

“Our convergence trend accelerated in the second quarter, driven by growth in new customer relationships that subscribe to both our fibre and 5G services. As we’ve discussed in the past, our mobility share is higher in areas where we offer fibre,” he said.

Verizon CFO Tony Skiadas stated on the earnings call converged services of mobile and broadband will reduce mobility churn going forward.

CEO Hans Vestberg explained the company’s “ key differentiator is that we have owners’ economics on most mobility and broadband”.

“We have the biggest mobility base and we’re now adding to our fibre base with Frontier,” he stated. “We have a huge opportunity for convergence.”

MoffettNathanson senior MD Craig Moffett has maintained a bearish outlook for the operators’ convergence prospects.

He noted with Lumen and the Gigapower out-of-region deployments, AT&T will offer fibre “in significantly less than a third of the country” while cable companies such as Charter Communications and Comcast have bigger footprints.

“Even with Frontier, Verizon’s wired fibre footprint will cover less than one in five US households, so their convergence will depend on FWA, not fibre, in the vast majority of the country,” Moffett wrote.

Heynen said he is less dubious about the convergence play and sees it as a growing trend among all operators.

“Yes, cable has shown that mobile can be used to stem the losses of broadband subscribers. But they face the bigger challenge of competing against fibre which is perceived to be a more future-friendly technology,” he explained.

The post Analysis: Who is winning T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon’s fibre brawl? appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The rApp was deployed in July using the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform over the O-RAN Alliance’s RI interface. The rApp interacts with the service management and orchestration framework to effect change through a network.

The two companies stated the deployment reflects the industry’s goal of moving towards an open ecosystem, which allows operators to mix and match rApps from different vendors.

They did not say which vendor provided the third-party rApp.

A representative for AT&T told Mobile World Live it is in the process of finalising certification of the rApp and will start nationwide deployment in the near future. 

The goal of open RAN includes enabling innovation across a broader range of developers to break vendor lock-in by large companies.

AT&T struck a $14 billion deal with the Swedish vendor in 2023 to develop open RAN with a goal of having 70 per cent of its network traffic running on open platforms by late 2026.

Rob Soni, VP of RAN technology at AT&T, stated the milestone “represents a significant leap forward in our commitment to openness and collaboration”.

AvidThink founder and principal Roy Chua told Mobile World Live the deployment of the rApp is an incremental evolution from a technology standpoint.

“But in terms of a business model and partnership innovation, it demonstrates a multi-vendor deployment of a third-party rApp on the incumbent vendor’s platform in a live network,” he explained. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll have a thriving multi-vendor open RAN ecosystem yet, but it shows we have the beginnings of a commercial and technology architecture to facilitate this.”

The post AT&T, Ericsson claim first with third-party rApp deployment appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Ericsson stated it holds 50 per cent of the equity, while operators AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone have as expected taken the remaining stake combined.

Aduna became operational in September 2024, with a goal to create an ecosystem of companies also including hyperscalers, developers and other industry players committed to advancing APIs and establish a set of common interfaces based on the existing industry-wide CAMARA open source project.

It has also stated its work will be in-keeping with the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative.

In addition to funding and commercial agreements, Ericsson stated the 12 operator shareholders will provide support through telecom operator relationships, knowledge of the developer community and expertise in network APIs.

Since its formation, Aduna has expanded its ecosystem, with operators including SoftBank Corp and NTT Docomo and five vendors including Microsoft and Syniverse the latest to join the effort.

Anthony Bartolo, who was named CEO of Aduna in January this year, stated closing the transaction was another important step for Aduna.

“In just ten months we have built an impressive ecosystem comprising the biggest names in telecoms and the wider ICT industry,” he said. “The closing provides renewed motivation for Aduna to accelerate the adoption of network APIs by developers on a global scale.”

The post Ericsson, operators finalise 50:50 API JV appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The mobile operator expects to unlock $6.5 billion to $8 billion in cash tax savings through 2027 due to the passing of Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. AT&T plans to invest $3.5 billion of those savings into building out its fibre network

“I would even say the alignment of those policy things that are going on right now, the direction that’s occurring, and the lack of friction in getting some changes done, is even more significant than when the Telecom Act of 96 was passed,” Stankey said.  “Thanks to the policies in this legislation, we intend to invest more rapidly in next generation networks.”

Stankey noted the legislation will accelerate the company’s fibre buildout to a pace of more than four million homes per year, a run rate he expects to achieve by the end of 2026.

The mobile operator is targeting 60 million business and consumer fibre locations by 2030, which includes the addition of Lumen’s Technologies’ consumer fibre footprint once the deal is completed early next year.

Stankey also credited the US Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) deregulation initiative that includes rolling back rules for decommissioning legacy copper lines during the call.

“We’re also making progress retiring our inefficient legacy copper infrastructure.” Stankey said. “I’m pleased to report that we filed with the FCC to discontinue service across approximately 10 per cent of our wire centres [central offices) in 17 states.”

While Stankey praised the Trump administration’s legislative efforts, he noted the president’s wavering tariffs are creating uncertainty across the telecoms sector.

“I would really like to see some of the uncertainty around tariffs start to dissipate,” he said

The CEO also noted cuts in federal government budgets has led to reduced spending in the public sector.

Stankey explained immigration policies are also having an impact, particularly across the prepaid sector.

Q2 numbers
Aided by a price guarantee programme, AT&T added 401,000 net post-paid customers, down from a year ago when it gained added 419,000. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 302,600 post-paid additions.

By contrast, rival Verizon posted a net loss of 9,000 post-paid subscribers earlier this week.

Internet Air, the operator’s fixed wireless access (FWA) service, added 203,000 new customers. It ended the quarter with one million FWA subscribers

“One driver of our ramp in AT&T Internet Air customers has been our wireless network monetisation efforts which have materially expanded the coverage of our mid-band spectrum and therefore the regions where we can offer the service,” CFO Pascal Desroches explained.

Revenue rose 3.4 per cent to $30.8 billion year-over-year, exceeding analysts’ estimate of $30.5 billion while net income increased to $4.5 billion from $3.5 billion.

The post AT&T to unlock up to $8B from Trump tax policies appeared first on Mobile World Live.

AT&T holds the contract for public safety communications system FirstNet, which asked the FCC in a 18 July filing to allow a commercial deployment of the D2D service with AST SpaceMobile using Band 14 spectrum.

Earlier this week, AST SpaceMobile also sought the FCC’s permission to commercially deploy the service.

FirstNet already uses the 700MHz frequency band, known as Band 14, to provide first responders with connectivity. Band 14 is ideal for satellite services because it is deployed nationwide.

The goal of the D2D service is to provide connectivity in rural areas or locations where a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, knocks out the terrestrial network.

The commercial deployment request followed a separate FCC filing in April which sought permission to conduct a test of the D2D service using AST SpaceMobile’s birds.

A representative for AT&T told Mobile World Live the operator expects the FCC to put the two filings, and any related AST SpaceMobile filings, out for public notice prior to approvals, but noted it is too early to give a specific date for when the service will be available.

The FCC’s deadline for comments on AST SpaceMobile’s plan to launch a total of 248 low earth orbit (LEO) birds was due on Monday (21 July).

SpaceX complaint
Earlier this month, the FCC granted an experimental licence for AST SpaceMobile to launch its first Block2 Bluebird low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, which has ten-times the capacity of its current first-generation birds.

The Block2 Bluebirds feature up to 2,400 square foot communications arrays with beams designed to support a capacity of 40MHz, enabling peak data transmission rates of 120Mb/s.

Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, which is provisioning T-Mobile US’ direct-to-device service through Starlink satellites, opposes the Block2 Bluebirds.

On Tuesday, SpaceX sent a letter to the FCC which stated AST SpaceMobile’s application to operate 248 “tennis court-sized satellites” could lead to collisions in space and result in debris falling towards earth.

It stated AST SpaceMobile “underestimates its collision risk by assuming its dead satellites will stay in their optimal orientation even when AST loses control of them”.

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